Harry Potter and The Labyrinth (Year one)
by v.dormouse
Summary: What if Dudley made a wish but then didn't follow through? what if the King of the Goblins knew who Harry Potter was and how important he was? What if he adopted him to be his Son and Heir? how would this affect Harry's life and fate? some Dumbledore bashing and slight Weasley bashing
1. Chapter 1 - The Wish

Disclaimer: I can honestly say that after looking at my poor bank balance I do not own any of the characters that you see and recognise here from either Harry Potter or The Labyrinth, I am just having a little fun with them all

**Chapter One – The Wish**

Vernon and Petunia never let anything magical in their house, but other parents did. This is how on one rainy afternoon while five-year-old Dudley was at his best friends Pier Polkiss's house he had ended up watching the film Labyrinth.

That very night Dudley said the fateful words that would change all of their lives. He had been annoyed that his cousin was getting more attention than he was, of course had you asked Harry he would have told you that he would have been more than happy to _not_ be receiving the attention that he was getting as his aunt had decided to give him a haircut and thus he was now sitting on a chair in the Kitchen and nearly all his hair was being sheared off his head. All except for his fringe that, during his aunt's mutters about incompetent barbers had explained that she had left the fringe to 'hide that horrible scar'.

Dudley stood in the door to the kitchen his face was bright red and screwed up, a few fake tears from the start of his temper tantrum were drying on his cheeks as, with the film still fresh in his mind he finally screamed, "I wish the goblins would come and take you away, right now!" As soon as the words left his mouth Harry disappeared, Petunia seemed to freeze and a wild wind seemed to blow the back door open with a bang revealing a man standing there.

Dudley was terrified and immediately scuttled to hide behind his mother's legs, begging her to protect him at the same time, only to receive no response from the frozen woman. But he did get a response from the strange man, "She cannot hear you Dudley, my magic holds her frozen, as it does for your father in the other room." He stepped into the kitchen allowing Dudley to see him clearly.

He was tall and slim with miss-matched eyes sparkling with cruel amusement from beneath his ragged fringed of dirty blonde hair.

"W…who are you?" Dudley stammered out at him causing the tall man to smirk and raise one of his elegantly well-groomed eyebrows.

"Come, come now. When people summon me they should at least have the good manners to remember just who I am."

Dudley pulled his entire small podgy frame up as much as he could, his anger at the insult momentarily pushing his fear to the side as his small voice snapped. "I have lots of manners; everyone says I am the perfect gentleman."

This just caused Jareth's cruel smirk to grow, "A gentleman you say. Then I have a gift for you, from one gentleman to another." His words dripped sarcasm, but Dudley was still too young to understand what sarcasm was, let alone recognise someone using it.

Jareth gave a simple flick with his wrist and a perfect crystal sphere appeared on the fingertips of his right hand and he began weaving it back and forth with his fingers in a complicated and mesmerising pattern.

Dudley found he could not tear his eyes away from the moving crystal and in a voice filled with awe asked, "What is it?"

The cruel amusement in Jareth's eyes died, he could see that this fat boy would not be running his Labyrinth, that again he would be forced to turn a defenceless child into a goblin.

"It's a crystal." He answered, voice devoid of all emotion but this did not register with Dudley, "Nothing more, but if you turn it this way and look into it." He gave a little flick of his fingers and the crystal performed a twist that would be impossible in the hands of a mortal, "and it will show you your dreams. However this is not a gift for an ordinary little boy."

A flash of annoyance crossed Dudley's face at being called 'little' but it disappeared as he continued watching the entrancing crystal. "With a cousin…" knowledge of just who had been taken finally filtered through to Jareth's mind and his eyes widened slightly, yet he didn't lose a beat as he continued, "Who gets all the attention."

The words were distastefully to him now. "Do you want it Dudley?" He asked; it took everything he had not to spit the name.

Dudley nodded eagerly, "Yes give it to me." And he reached out for the crystal. Jareth was only too happy to say the next words as he handed the crystal to him, "Then forget all about your cousin." With the words said and the crystal in Dudley's hand the wild wind blew once more through the kitchen, Jareth disappeared and the frozen time returned, leaving a confused Dudley and Petunia standing there.

Not knowing why she was holding the scissors in her hand Petunia shrugged and moved to put them away as she asked her son how his trip to his friends had been and what he was holding. Dudley blinked and told her that he had had fun at Piers and found a nice crystal there that he had been allowed to keep.

Ten minutes later there was a furious knocking on their front door which when opened revealed the headmaster of Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry, Professor Dumbledore.

xxxx

Back Underground Jareth appeared in his throne room to see the young five-year-old boy standing in the depression in the centre of the room, goblins all around, some playing with the young boy, but most of them were creating the usual ruckus when a child was present in the throne room.

A small runty looking goblin looked up at him and squeaked, "Will there be a run through the Labyrinth your majesty?"

Jareth's eyes never left the small child, "No there will be no run this time." He ignored the confused looks of the goblins that heard his words. Normally when a mortal refused to run the Labyrinth for the one wished away, the child would immediately be turned into a goblin, yet this one had not been changed yet.

Jareth knelt down in front of the young man who smiled and said, "Hello I'm Harry."

Jareth nodded once but didn't say anything instead he reached forward and gently brushed the little boys fringe back to reveal the lightning bolt scar there.

As soon as the scar could be seen all of the surrounding goblins fell silent, staring at the child before them. Removing his hand Jareth gave a small smile and finally said, "Hello Harry I am Jareth the king of the goblins and you are in my castle."

Harry just smiled and said, "I like this dream, and your goblins are fun to play with."

Jareth shook his head, "I'm sorry Harry but this is no dream. You are in what is known as the Underground. It is filled with kingdoms much like this one." He slid his hands under Harry's arms and lifted him up before pulling him close to his chest with an arm supporting him as he moved to his throne he also used a small touch of magic to re-grow Harry's hair to what it was before his aunt started in with her scissors.

He also conjured a chair beside his throne and settled Harry onto it before seating himself on his own throne.

Harry shook his head and gave a little childish giggle, "Your silly, my aunt and uncle have told me magic isn't real."

Jareth raised an eyebrow at the young boy and asked with a smirk, "If magic is not real then how is it possible that your hair has re-grown itself?"

Harry gave a small shrug and replied with his own smile still in place "because this is all a dream and anything can happen in dreams."

A frown crossed Jareth's face, his tone was serious and filled with genuine feeling as he said, "Harry I give you my word as King of this realm this is no dream and that magic is very real. Your aunt and uncle lied to you; they didn't want you to know that you Harry Potter are a wizard."

Harry's innocent emerald eyes went wide, fear starting to creep in as the he began to realise that this was not a dream. Large tears began to gather in his eyes, "How can I be a wizard? Why would they lie to me? Is it because I'm a bad freak?"

As soon as Jareth had said the name Harry Potter, all of the goblins in the throne had fallen silent and were starting in awe at the child before them, but as soon as they heard these words from not only an innocent child but from one they all knew was prophesied to be one of the greatest wizards they couldn't help from suddenly exploded into noise, harsh angry words spilling from their own lips.

Harry cringed terrified at the sudden noise, while Jareth's own eyes lit with an angry fire and he had to use every ounce of control he had to not give into his own anger.

Closing his eyes he regained his control and he snapped out at his goblins with a roar, "SILENCE!" He was instantly obeyed, but they could not keep the angry looks from their twisted faces, some could not stop themselves from shaking they were so angry.

Jareth leaned forwards and slid his hand underneath Harry's chin and gently raised it up so that he could look him directly into his tear filled eyes, "Listen to me very carefully Harry, You are a wizard. You are not a freak. In fact you are more than a simple wizard Harry; you are a hero and destined to become a most powerful wizard."

The fear remained in his eyes but Harry nodded at him, Jareth lowered his hand but made sure to keep eye contact with Harry, "Traveling to my realm can be hard on one so young, you must be tired." When he received a small nod in reply from the young boy, Jareth looked over to one pf the taller Goblins that matched Harry in size, "Nartile escort my young guest to one of the guest rooms that are closest to my own." He turned back to Harry and with a small genuine smile said, "Get some rest Harry, there are some things I must do, we will talk again later."

The goblin Jareth had spoken to stepped forward and indicated that Harry should follow him. Harry slipped off the chair and proceeded to do just that leaving the king and his goblins all alone.

Silence reigned in the throne room for several minutes while the goblins all watched their King deep in thought, Jareth was thinking about what steps he would need to take next when his train of thought was broken by the goblins watching him.

"Your Majesty will he be turned into a goblin?" one of his subjects blurted the question that was on the minds of them all. As soon as they had heard his name they knew that he was the boy-who-lived.

They all knew that had he not stopped Voldemort then it would not have been long before the Goblins Aboveground would have started to feel the effects of the war.

Once that happened then the Underground kingdom they had come from would have been duty bound to immediately go to their aid and thus drawing the entire Underworld into the war, something that all the Kingdoms had not wanted, but if one had gone then they all would have gone.

The kingdoms while they may fight amongst themselves like the clans of old did, would immediately unite and become a force to be reckoned with should even one member of their small realms become injured in connection to something as big as a war. It was for this reason that in the Underground even more then Aboveground the name of Harry Potter was well known.

Jareth made his decision; he would have to go to the council. It would not be long before someone in the Wizarding world noticed the absence of the child and so he had to act quickly. Standing he began to bark orders, "Issue a statement throughout the Labyrinth should any human be seen they are to be deposited into an oubliette immediately, make a note and place it on my desk in my office, I will then deal with them personally.

Lock the city down immediately.

No wishes are to be granted until further notice.

Inform the Goblins Aboveground that the Kingdom is currently in a Lockdown state and that communications are to be restricted to emergencies only or in relation to Harry Potter.

Inform the Director of the England branch of the bank Aboveground to immediately send me the file relating to the Potter accounts along with all Potter wills made in the last fifty years.

Should Harry awaken see to his needs but do not let him out of his room. Tell him he is to remain there until I go to him.

I am leaving to speak to the council. Under no circumstances are you to inform Harry where I have gone."

With his orders being obeyed he conjured a crystal. Unlike the usual clear crystals though, this one held a faint rainbow coloured shimmer at its centre. Jareth gripped it in his hand and closed his eyes making the silent request only to have the crystal flare with multi-coloured light before settling back to its faint glow at the centre.

Receiving the permission he sought Jareth allowed the crystal to fall from his hand and smash on the floor at his feet. As soon as it did, a wild wind blew and surrounded him carrying him off away from the castle.

xxxx

A/N Ok So I'm currently working on this and so far have about half of first year written but my curiosity has gotten the better of me and I wanted to see how well received this would be. Let me know if you love or hate it and then I'll know if I should post the whole thing once I am done.

Keep writing and have fun

V.


	2. Chapter 2 - The Search begins

Disclaimer: I can honestly say that after looking at my poor bank balance I do not own any of the characters that you see and recognise here from either Harry Potter or The Labyrinth, I am just having a little fun with them all

**Chapter Two – The Search begins**

Dumbledore was seated behind his desk, lost deep in his thoughts. He had just spent a frustrating hour at Privet Drive demanding to know what had happened to Harry Potter only to find that none of the inhabitants of No 4 Privet Drive had any memory of the young boy that had been living there for the past five years.

All he had found was a perfect crystal that the youngest Dursley claimed to have been given that day, a crystal that Dumbledore had been able to sense did not originate from the land naturally and had a faint race of an unknown magic to it. It was for this reason that he had used a small compulsion charm to get the boy to give it to him. And so the crystal now sat in the centre of his large desk as he contemplated where it could have come from and more importantly how was it connected to Harry Potter.

It was as he was lost in thought that an old memory re-surfaced.

He had been in his thirties and retrieving some money from his vault. He had returned from the wild ride on the carts and was passing through the large hall that led outside when he had seen a goblin emerge from one of the many doors that led to areas that were for bank employees only.

The goblin had swiftly moved from teller to teller, after each of his visits the teller would close their position and send any customer on their way. In five minutes all of the witches and wizards had been ushered from the building and the big doors had slammed shut. They had not opened until the next day, something the paper at the time had reported to be an occurrence that had not happened since the end of the last goblin war.

What had caught Dumbledore's eye had been the perfect crystal seen in the first goblins hand. A perfectly spherical crystal he would show briefly to all of the goblins as he made his way around them all, they in turn would look into it and react to whatever they could see in its depth.

Dumbledore, considered a prodigy of transfiguration and was quickly gaining a reputation as a genius even at his young age, had been able to sneak a glance at the crystal as the goblin walked past him across the hall to the opposite side to show to the tellers on that side, but to his eyes there was nothing in the crystal to see.

A perfect crystal! Exactly like the one sitting in the middle of his desk at that very moment.

He immediately rose and picked up the crystal, retrieved his outdoor cloak and made his way to the edge of the wards. A few minutes later and he was making his way through Diagon Alley and heading into Gringotts bank.

Upon entering the main hall that held all of the tellers, Dumbledore looked around and spotted an empty desk, walking up to it he ignored the 'closed' sign and with a benign smile said to the goblin sat working there, "I would like to speak to the supervisor of today's shift please." The goblin looked up from the ledger it was entering figures into and glared at him before gruffly answering him.

"Wait here." The goblin slipped from his stool to disappear amongst the busy goblins behind the desks it took a few minutes for the goblin to return, now being followed by a second goblin.

"You asked to see me?" He asked the tall elderly wizard, to which Dumbledore again gave the same benign smiled and said, "I was hoping you could help me with this." before placing the crystal in front of them on the counter.

They both glanced briefly down at the object on the desk only to freeze where they stood at the clear sense of power from the crystal, a power that only the goblins could sense that marked it as one of their King's crystals.

And they weren't the only ones, the teller on either side seemed to suddenly tense up and immediately turned to regard the crystal before turning to the tellers on either side of them and whisper something. Soon the whisper had circulated throughout the entire hall and was already starting to make its way through the doors.

The supervising goblin reached out as though to touch the crystal but stopped just short of doing so and pulled his arm back. He finally pulled his eyes away from the object and turned to his colleague to snap something in goblin, causing the first goblin to jump and start moving as he had been ordered.

The supervisor turned to Dumbledore and said, "If you will follow me." And with a snap of his fingers an opening appeared in the counter allowing Dumbledore to step through and follow the goblin through one of the many doors behind the desks.

Dumbledore was escorted to a plain looking reception room, which contained nothing but a table with two chairs, one on either side facing each other. There he was asked to sit before being left alone.

It was ten minutes later when the door opened and three goblins entered, two were dressed in what looked to be heavy armour and carried a large axe each, a second smaller one was strapped to their backs and two short daggers were at their sides. They took a position on either side of the door, clearly guards but whether for the third goblin or for the crystal Dumbledore was unsure.

The third goblin was dressed in what Dumbledore thought as simple clothing of goblin design, but clearly high quality; he also had to short daggers strapped this belt. He was carrying a small dark purple cushion that had a piece of lilac silk draped across it; a shape bulged in the centre that made it clear the crystal sphere was held underneath.

He placed the cushion on the table and slid the silk off the top to reveal as Dumbledore had suspected the Crystal in the centre; he then took the seat across from him before beginning.

"Good day headmaster I am Chairgoblin Golgribble and I would be most interested in hearing how you came to be in possession of this crystal. And I warn you your answer will be most critical to your safety within these walls at the present moment in time."

This shocked Dumbledore, he had expected another supervisor not the director of the bank to walk through the door, at least that now explained the guards, he had also never before heard of a goblin threatening a wizard so openly.

It was well known after all they could have no hope of winning a fight with a witch or wizard; it was why there were no goblin wars anymore, because they had interceded and put an end to them. Of course he was not to know that it was in fact the King who had put a true stop to the wars, due to being sick of the attention that the goblin feuds had drawn.

Pushing his shock to the side he managed to reply in an even tone "I found it in the possession of a young muggle child and sensing it to be magical in nature thought it wise to remove it from his presence. I was trying to ascertain where it had come from when I remembered seeing one exactly like it being handled by a goblin once within these walls a long time ago." He gave his usual grandfatherly smile that he always used when trying talking to those he believed to be weaker and below him, "Now I have a few…."

Golgribble interrupted him, "And the name of this muggle child?" Again Dumbledore could not help being shocked, how dare he be interrupted, even if he was the Chairgoblin of the bank he was still just a goblin, while he was not just a wizard but Albus Dumbledore!

But before he could say anything though, the door opened and another goblin entered carrying a second purple cushion and walked quickly to the Chairgoblin and placed the cushion on the table in front of him, where to Dumbledore's surprise he saw it held a second crystal, identical to the first one.

The new goblin stepped back from the table without saying word, while the Chairgoblin seemed to stare into the centre of the new crystal for a brief moment. To Dumbledore it seemed as if he went into trance for a moment before he blinked rapidly, then turned to the second goblin that had entered and began to snap orders out in goblin, once he was done the goblin left quickly clearly to carry out the orders he had just been given.

Dumbledore sat there wishing to ask what was going on, but something told him that his questions would not be answered. Of course this did not stop the polite look of curiosity on his face when the Chairgoblin turned back to him.

The goblin ignored his silent request before saying, "Now I believe you were about to inform me of the muggle child's name."

Dumbledore nodded slightly before saying, "Dudley Dursley. Now I have a few ques…" Golgribble tuned Dumbledore out as he fell into deep thought for a moment, trying to see if he had heard the name before. When no memory of the name arrived he returned his attention to the wizard before him and what he was saying. "…hat significance it has to you?"

He ignored the fact that the old wizard had obviously been asking some questions and stood, picking up the two cushions saying "I thank you for returning this to us. Now I must ask you to leave."

Dumbledore could not believe that he was being dismissed in this manner. He allowed some of his aura to show and in a stern tone that he would usually use on misbehaving students said "I'm sorry but I cannot do that. I must insist that you answer my questions? Especially concerning where the crystal came from?"

The goblin frowned at him and tersely replied, "They are goblin business and no concern to wizards."

The harsh tone of the goblin failed to disturb Dumbledore as he once again pressed for answers, "I must insist on an answer. Harry Potter was staying with Dudley Dursleys, they were cousins. Mr Potter has now gone missing and that crystal was the only trace of anything magical that I could discover. He is my responsibility and so as you can see I must insist that you tell me the significance of the crystal."

Golgribble's frown deepened, the Potter account was one of their larger accounts after the ancient vaults. If their King's crystal had indeed come from the where the young heir resided, and yet contained nothing about him, it answered at least how it had come to be in the hands of one that was not a goblin.

A wish had been made by this Dudley Dursley, but no run was completed if he still had the crystal and now he was told that Harry Potter was missing from the residence, this meant that he must now be in the Goblin Kingdom Underground. He couldn't help wondering if it was related to why the King had ordered the lockdown that was now in effect, and also helped explain why his Majesty had requested the Potter files to be sent to him.

Golgribble's continued silence had Dumbledore beginning to think that he would have to start using the pressure of his position as head of the Wizengamot to get the information he required when Golgribble finally spoke, "The crystals are a goblin matter and cannot be discussed with members of other races who do not already know what they are."

He saw the frown of displeasure starting to appear on Dumbledore's face and raised one claw to cut off any further comments the wizard would have made and continued, "However I will see if… my employer will grant you an audience in connection to the crystal you have stolen from Dudley Dursley"

He moved over to stand next to the guards by the door, and before Dumbledore could make any protest about the stolen comment said "Now if you will excuse me I have much to attend to. You will know if your request for information has been allowed." With that he walked out, quickly followed by the two guards.

Dumbledore found that he had no choice but to leave, although he could not believe that he had just been dismissed in such a manner, almost in the way he would dismiss Fudge or one of his students. He was quickly escorted back to the main hall by the same supervisor from before, a few steps out of the bank and he dis-apperated back to Hogwarts.

Over the next four days Dumbledore tried to do everything he could think of to try and locate Harry but nothing seemed to work. He had people out looking for him everywhere and had even pushed his own magic to its limits with the numerous location spell he had tried, each one more powerful and ancient in origin then the last.

xxxx

A/N OK wow is all I can say to the response the first chapter had. I wasn't too sure if many people read HPxL crossover fics but I can safely say that opinion has now changed.

I had decided that I wasn't going to post anymore until I had finished the first year completely but after the overwhelming (for me) response I thought I would at least post a few more chapters for now. Please be warned though I may stop posting after about chapter 5 or 6 and then wait until it is finished before posting the rest of this as I am uncomfortable posting fics that are not completed these days. Until then I will try and post a chapter a day.

Thank you all again

Keep writing and have fun

V.


	3. Chapter 3 - The council decides

Disclaimer: I can honestly say that after looking at my poor bank balance I do not own any of the characters that you see and recognise here from either Harry Potter or The Labyrinth, I am just having a little fun with them all

**Chapter Three – The Council decides**

The wind from the crystal cleared and Jareth found himself standing in the familiar room of the Underground council.

The walls were all windows that showed views of each of the Underground Kingdoms, one window for each Kingdom. There were no doors as the members of the council were the only ones with the power to access to this room via their own unique ways of travel.

In the centre of the room there stood a round table and around it all but one of the chairs were filled with the rulers of the other Kingdoms. The majority of them were like Jareth, members of the Fae but one or two were from other species.

Only the High Lord, King of the Dragons and head of the council was an Elf.

Jareth bowed his head politely in the direction of the High Lord, before taking the final empty seat, his own at the table.

"Jareth Király, King of the Goblins you have called for a meeting of the council today. Speak your reason for doing so." The High Lord said in a clear deep voice.

Rising to stand once more he gave a quick glance at the council members before saying, "My lord, Kings and Queens of the Underground I bring you the news that twenty-two minuets ago I answered a wish to remove a child by his cousin. The wisher refused to run the Labyrinth. Understandably I would not think to bother the council with this were the circumstances normal. However the child I was asked to take was a young Wizard by the name of Harry Potter."

The council sat in silence as they processed what had been said, after giving them a moment Jareth continued, "Understandably I thought it best to present the case to the council, because while the law of the Underground states that I should change the child into a creature of my Kingdom I am hesitant to do so to the boy that prevented us all from going to war. As such I request the councils advice on what would be the best action to take."

Jareth sat back down, indicating that he was finished and awaiting his colleagues of the council to begin offering their thoughts and opinions.

A quite murmur filled the room as they all began to debate the best way to keep Harry Potter human and his magic intact, finally it was the Queen of the Unicorns who said, "I see only two ways that this can be solved, the first that the law is the law and so the child must be changed."

Several members began to make protests at this; clearly no one wanted the boy changed. The Queen ignored them and continued, "The second option being that you take the boy as your own child."

Silence filled the room until the High Lord that broke it, "I believe you are right, Jareth will you take the boy as your own son and Heir to the Kingdom of Goblins?"

Jareth frown as he thought about it for several moments before finally shaking his head slightly, "There is one problem on making him my son and heir, he would have to become a member of the Fae, and I am sure we are all aware of how important it is that he remains a Wizard."

"I believe that the ritual needed to make the boy your heir could be altered slightly so that he retains some of his human heritage." The King of the Centaurs commented airily.

Jareth considered the standard ritual that was used for adoption to another species, "If it can be modified so he would become Half-Fae Half-Human it would allow him to retain his human magic and inheritance, while at the same time granting him some of the powers of the Fae and Goblins as is required of my heir as the goblin King. If the council do not disagree then I would be willing to accept the child."

When there no objections made the High Lord stood, "Then as the High Lord of the Underground council I rule that the mortal wizard Harry Potter is to become the legal son and Heir of Jareth Király King of the Goblins. This meeting of the council is dismissed, Jareth I will arrive within your Kingdom in three days at noon to perform the ritual myself, until then good day to you all."

They all stood and bowed or curtsied to the High Lord who faded from their sight, returning to his own Kingdom of the Dragons. With his leaving the others started to disappear in the manner of their methods of travel until only Jareth and two other members of the Fae remained, The Queen of the Unicorns and the King of the Dark Fae.

Queen Valenta smiled as she approached him, "I thought you may like some help in altering the ritual Jareth."

Beside her King Blayrith snorted at her comment, "And ensure that the child is biased in his use of Fae magic. He should be grounded in both light and dark uses of our power. I will ensure that."

Jareth sighed, of all the Fae on the council these two fought the most, he supposed it was because Valentia was the Queen of creatures so light in magic while Blayrith was the ruler of the darker half of their people. As soon as he saw them approaching he just knew that it would result in a headache, one he could already feel beginning to build at the back of his mind.

"You can both help me, that way we can ensure any changes to the ritual will keep the balance of Fae magic within Harry as it should be and not have him favouring one above the other." He suggested to his two colleagues, tempted to remind Blayrith that he himself was more aligned with the powers of the Light Fae and as such the use of his blood in the adoption ritual and simply raising the child was sure to cause a bias towards the lighter side of their powers, but this would just cause an argument he really didn't want and so kept it to himself.

After he got a grudging agreement from the two of them, he conjured a crystal and transported all three of them to his castle and began working on the ritual.

After several hours work and a splitting headache Jareth finally got rid of his guests. He spent an hour in his study, going over the most important of the paperwork that appeared during his absence. It was then that he found the letter from the Chairgoblin of Gringotts, England branch.

_King Jareth of the Goblin Kingdom, Lord of the Labyrinth, Duke of Deceit, Member of the Underworld Council, Owner and Chief Executive Officer of Gringotts _

_Your Majesty,_

_As you have ordered please find attached the files on the Potter accounts._

_I apologise for intruding upon you when you have called for a Lockdown on communications, however you advised that we were to contact you in relation to any matter pertaining to Harry Potter. _

_I have just come from a meeting with the mortal wizard Albus Dumbledore. He came to the bank bearing one of your own crystals but with no knowledge as to what it was; I immediately set to discovering how he came to possess the crystal. _

_I discovered that he had taken it from a mortal child called Dudley Dursley. I do not know of any connection between the bank and this child; however Albus Dumbledore mentioned that the boy was the cousin of Harry Potter and resided with him. _

_I looked at the Crystal and could see no mention of Mr Potter within; as such I determined that Dudley Dursley was the owner as a result of a wish and refusal to run the Labyrinth._

_Albus Dumbledore demanded information about the crystal and how it was connected to Dudley Dursley and Mr Potter's disappearance from their residence. As per your orders I made no mention of your Majesty or the Labyrinth._

_Unfortunately the only way to ensure that he would leave the bank I was forced to give him the platitude that I would contact my employer and request an audience so that he may request the information he seeks._

_I have included the file of Albus Dumbledore; I beg your forgiveness Your Majesty in agreeing to this._

_I await your orders_

_Your humble subject and servant_

_Chairgoblin Golgribble_

_Gringotts – England Branch_

Jareth sighed before pinching the bridge of his nose. Damn he had known that young Harry's absence would have been noticed Aboveground, but he had been hoping that more time would have passed then this.

He pulled the file on this Albus Dumbledore out of the envelope that the letter had been in and began flicking through it.

After flicking through the file, Jareth tossed it onto his desk and pulled out the Potter files. Again he only gave the files a very quick flick through, there was too much to do a thorough exam of them right then, but he wanted to have an idea of what type of account he was dealing with. He rarely involved himself in the bank or the Wizarding world and as such only knew the Potter name from what had happened on Halloween in 1981.

He finally stood, deciding to go and see Harry. It was time to explain some things to the small boy about what was going on and what was to happen.

There were two guards on the boys bedroom door, they both bowed low as he passed and entered the room. He stood in the doorway and looked around to see where Harry was. He spotted him curled up asleep on the window seat; he quietly closed the door behind him, trying to not disturbing the young man. Jareth could see the book that he had been reading starting to slip off Harry's lap and froze it in place before it could fall to the floor with a thud.

Jareth moved to pluck the item from where it hung frozen and, closed it before sitting down next to the young child, watching as he slept peacefully, the bright moonlight shining gently on his face. Jareth hadn't realised that so much of the day had passed during his time with the council, as well as the time spent then modifying the ritual and dealing with the more important paperwork.

He had intended to talk to Harry but knew that would not be possible tonight, for now he needed to get him into bed where he could sleep a little more comfortably than the window seat.

Gently he brushed a few of the stray locks of hair on his face away; it was this gentle gesture that woke the boy from his light slumber. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes, rubbing at one with his hand while sleepily asking, "Where am I?"

"You are in my castle Harry. Don't you remember what happened?" Jareth asked him, keeping his tone soft so as to not scare the child.

Harry frowned, "I had a dream that the Goblins had taken me away." His eyes grew wide, "It wasn't a dream was it?"

Jareth shook his head, "No Harry it wasn't a dream. I need to talk to you about some very important things, but they can wait until morning. It is late and you should get to bed and have some proper sleep."

Harry nodded his head and quietly said, "Yes sir, but um…"

Jareth raised an eyebrow at the boy's hesitation, "You do not need to be afraid Harry, if you have questions you may ask them?"

Harry flushed red and ducked his head down, twisting his hands in his lap, in the same quiet voice he timidly asked, "Please may I have some water, and maybe a little bread?"

Jareth blinked in surprise at this, he had expected him to ask when he could go home, not this. Quickly anger began to replace his surprise he had left orders for the child to be taken care of, why had none of his goblins given the boy food and drink. He would find out and throw whoever was to blame in the bog.

Keeping a neutral look on his face, he gave a wave of his arm and a tray of food appeared holding a glass of fruit juice and some slices of warm bread with delicious strawberry jam smothered on each. He placed the tray on the window seat between them, "It will not taste as good as food prepared by hand but it should be enough for now."

Harry looked with surprise at the delicious smelling food placed beside him and couldn't help looking up at Jareth with wide eyes and in a whisper asked, "Is that really all for me?"

Jareth forced himself not to frown at this, and with a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth said, "Of course, and I give you my word I will find out why you were not bought something sooner, I gave orders that you were to be looked after."

Harry had picked up one of the slices of bread and was about to take a bite but stopped at Jareth's words and shook his head, "Oh please I don't want anyone to get in any trouble, they said I could ask for things when they brought me here but I didn't want to be a bother so I just stayed in here reading."

Now Jareth did allow his frown to show, "But were you not hungry?"

Harry gave a small shrug, "Yes but its ok I have gone for days with no food as punishment before."

Jareth indicated the bread in his hands and that he should carry on and said, "Well that will not happen here, if you are hungry you must say so, you are not a burden or a bother Harry."

Harry just nodded his head and was about to take a bite but stopped and hesitated, Jareth was tempted to sigh and snap at the boy to just eat but instead forced himself to remain calm and ask, "Why do you hesitate Harry?"

Again Harry flushed red and said, "Well…Um, is this like that fruit I heard about in the story?"

Jareth raised an eyebrow in curiosity at him, "What fruit in what story?"

Harry scrunched his face up in concentration to remember better, "Some girl was stuck with some guy and he tricked her into eating a fruit with a weird name that meant she had to stay with him"

Jareth couldn't help the small laugh he gave at this, "The story you heard was about a Greek Goddess called Persephone and the fruit was a Pomegranate. But you need not worry; though you will be staying here for a long time, it will not be due to the food as the food here is not like that, you are safe to eat it, perhaps later I will tell you the story."

This seemed to settle Harry's mind as he tucked into the food with great relish, once he was done Jareth got rid of the tray and guided Harry to the bed, again he conjured some pyjamas for him and soon had Harry tucked up in bed, Jareth made to leave but was stopped by Harry asking, "Erm…sir…"

Jareth gave a small smile at him, "Yes Harry?"

The flush was back on his face and he was twisting his hands in his lap, "Erm…Would you tell me the story about the girl and the fruit?"

Jareth sat down on the edge of the, "Normally I would say that it is too late, however I suppose I can make an exception." He began to tell the story however it wasn't long until Harry began yawning, though he fought to hide them.

Just as Jareth was reaching the section where Persephone was going to eat the six seeds of the Pomegranate, Harry's eyes finally closed and didn't open again. Making sure that he was settled comfortably in the bed Jareth silently slipped out of the room.

xxxx

A/N Again thank you to everyone for the fantastic response I am getting for this. The pressure is on now for me to try and finish this as quickly as possible so there won't be too long a delay after I have posted Chap 6 and the rest of the fic.

I have decided to post up all the way up to just before Harry leaves to go to Hogwarts, once I reach that point which is the end of Chap 6 I intend to stop posting until I have completed all of year one, hopefully it won't take me too long

Keep writing and have fun

V.


	4. Chapter 4 - Story time

Disclaimer: I can honestly say that after looking at my poor bank balance I do not own any of the characters that you see and recognise here from either Harry Potter or The Labyrinth, I am just having a little fun with them all

**Chapter Three – Story Time**

The next morning Jareth gave orders for breakfast to be taken to Harry, along with some of his own clothes that he had shrunk down for him. Once the child was fed and clothed he was to be brought to Jareth's office.

While this happened Jareth began to go through the Potter file in a little more detail, a file that also included a copy of the Will for James and Lily Potter and what he saw angered him greatly and made him even more determined to adopt Harry and keep him safe Underground.

Soon he heard a timid knock on his office door and after calling out "Enter", Harry slipped in dressed in the black trousers and white button down shirt he had been given. Jareth noticed he had left off the waistcoat, but he wasn't too surprised at this.

Giving a small smile he put down the file he had been reading about the properties belonging to the Potter estate and said, "Good morning little one, I trust you slept well?"

Harry returned his smile with one of his own and happily replied, "Oh yes Sir, thank you, and thank you for breakfast and the clothes. I promise I'll work really hard to pay for them."

Jareth gave a small frown and indicated Harry should come forward and sit in the chair in front of his desk while saying, "Harry you do not need to pay me for the food or clothing, and you do not need to call me Sir. There are times when you will have to use certain titles to address me but for now simply calling me Jareth will be fine."

Harry sat down and gave a nod of understanding, "Yes Si…um Jareth."

"Now Harry, there is much that we must discuss this morning but if you feel like it is too much then I want you to let me know and we can take a break or if you are struggling to understand anything then you can ask as many questions as you want until you do understand. I also want you to be completely honest with me, I know you have not been treated well while you lived with your relatives so you do not need to hide anything from me, do you understand little one?"

Harry's head had started to lower and he was once again staring at his lap while his face was flushed red but he nodded and quietly replied, "I Understand."

"Good," Jareth replied before moving himself and his chair around to the same side of his desk as Harry, "Then we can begin; now the first thing we need to discuss is how we intend to have you remain here with me.

I am the King of the Goblins Harry and one of my duties is to grant what is called a Wish Away. When a human makes a wish that the Goblins would come and take someone away, I must and go and grant that wish.

The one taken is brought here to my castle as you were last night. The wisher is then given the chance to run through the Labyrinth that leads here to obtain back the one they wished away. Many choose not to make the run and as such the magic of the wish means that I have to turn that person into a creature of my kingdom.

Do you understand everything so far little one?" Jareth paused and waited until the young boy had given a nod of his head that he did, "Good, if I am going too fast or if you do not understand anything I am telling you I want you to let me know little one, we will be going over a lot of information and I don't want you to struggle with any of it."

Harry again nodded his head and quietly asked, "My cousin didn't want to try and get me back did he? Does this mean I have to be turned into a creature?"

Internally Jareth gave a sigh, it was so much easier when he just did the transformation straight away and didn't have to spend time with the wish away. "Normally yes Harry I would turn you into a creature, but it would cause problems if I did that, you see you are a very special boy."

Harry shook his head in denial, "I'm sorry Jareth, but you have that wrong, I'm not special I'm just a freak my Aunt and Uncle have told me so."

Jareth frowned, "What have your relatives told you about your parents and about you?

Harry gave a shrug, "my mum and dad died in a car crash and that they had to take me in. They said that I was lucky to be alive and a freak of nature because I had survived when I should be dead so had to be grateful for them being so nice and giving me somewhere to live and food and clothes but I have to pay them back for it by doing chores and being a good boy, but I wasn't very good at it." He bushed red ad looked down at his lap, "I kept failing to do my chores properly or I took too long so I am a bad boy and a freak and that's why I have to sleep in the cupboard under the stairs, and only get to eat some bread and a glass of water once a day because I'm not good enough for anything better."

Jareth had to swallow back the sudden fury he felt at hearing all of this, he knew he needed to hear this and for the boy to tell it so that there could be no embarrassment over having suffered it all in the future.

However, for the first time in centuries Jareth was glad for his job, seeing the dreadful backgrounds that some of the children he took came from had made him an expert at not only swallowing his anger back but hiding it as well; while he had seen worse then what Harry said, to hear such things happening to someone considered such a hero was unthinkable.

Keeping his voice even Jareth asked, "Was it your Aunt and Uncle that told you and your cousin the story of the Labyrinth?"

Harry shook his head, "No I was never told or allowed to listen to any stories." He shrugged his shoulders "I guess they may have told it to Dudley, but I don't think so as they hate anything to do with magic and fairy stories."

Jareth was confused, "Then how did you know the story of the Greek Goddess little one?"

Harry gave a small smile, "Oh I heard the one of the woman and the fruit at school from a teacher; I love story time at school."

Jareth couldn't help the small smile at the sight of the young boys enthusiasm for stories, "You like stories?"

Harry nodded his head several times with a large smile, "Yes it's great because I can close my eyes and pretend that I am in the story too"

"Very well then, I will tell you a story, but I need you to keep your eyes open and concentrate and remember little one this is all true, everything I am about to tell you is the truth, though it will seem unbelievable it will be the truth."

Harry looked a bit unsure but still nodded his head in understanding before pushing himself back into the chair a little more, making himself a little more comfortable to sit and hear a story.

"Many, many years ago four people, two men and two women came together in great friendship and together they founded a school. They named their school Hogwarts, but it was not an ordinary school as you have attended, this was a school for special people that had a gift as they did; it was a school of magic.

For a long time they ran the school and all was good and safe for them and their students, but as is the way of nature, bad things began to happen. The non-magical people of the land began to fear those with magic, and in their fear they would fight and hurt the magical people.

This caused a lot of arguments between the four friends, two wanted to try and talk to the non-magical people, try to get them to understand that there was nothing for them to fear, one wanted to hide the whole magical world and having nothing more to do with any of the non-magical people, including the magical children born to the non-magical, they wanted to just leave them to themselves and allow only those that were magical and already knew of the school to continue having this knowledge, but one wanted to combine the two ideas, to hide the magical world, ensuring it is protected from the non-magical people that wished them harm but to continue to allow the children born to non-magical people to attend, to talk to them and their parents and show them that they have nothing to fear."

Jareth stood and picked up the goblet of water from is desk and taking a few sips returned to his seat before continuing, "Soon the first two friends realised that the idea to hide was necessary as people were not just being hurt now but had started to be killed for being magical, but they could not face leaving the magical children born to non-magical parents to face the chance of being harmed, and so they created a book that when a child with magic is born their name would show in it so that they could find them and help them and their parents by bringing them into the secret of the magical world. But still it was not enough for their final friend.

He still argued that they should go even further into hiding, eventually seeing that they others would not listen, he decided to leave. Though it pained them all greatly because though they argued they were still friends, they respected his decision and soon he was gone. They did not know this but eventually their friend made his way here to one of the Underground Kingdoms, but I shall tell you that story another time."

Harry's eyes were wide with fascination as he listened intently to what he was being told; Jareth took the moment to once again take a few sips of water, "For a long time peace settled on the magical world. There were times when one magical person would try to take over and tell everyone else what to do and this would often lead to battles where a great many people died. Again this is the way of nature, for you to know how happy and peaceful things are there must be times of storms that disrupt and disturb everything.

It was in the 1940's that a new wizard entered the school that would end up causing yet more battles in years to come. His mother died when he was born, and the father did not want him and so he was placed in an orphanage, do you know what an orphanage is Harry?"

Jareth paused and Harry quickly nodded "Yes Jareth, my aunt and uncle told me they nearly put me in one and that I could still go to one if I was really bad. They told me what one was so I would know just how lucky I am that they let me stay with them."

Jareth frowned, "that is not something you need think ever again little one, but we will discuss that later. Now this little boy grew up in an orphanage before going to Hogwarts. He learned all about magic but he did not use it for the nicest reasons, he liked to use it to make people do what he wanted, often he would use his magic to hurt people.

When he left school he was soon using nastier and nastier spells and rituals, they were distorting not just his magic but his soul as well. He began to talking about how the wizarding world should rule over the non-magical people, that those without magic, as well as any magical creature that was not human were lower than witches and wizards and should be made into slaves.

There were people that thought as he did, and they began to follow him. He changed his name from Tom Riddle to Lord Voldemort. Because of this he made the people who thought the same, the ones who called themselves 'pure-bloods' that he was the same as them, but he wasn't.

His mother was a witch, but his father was a non-magical person, this means that to the 'pure-blood' followers he had he would have only been a 'half-blood' and as such should be classed as one of the lower class of people. But he hid this from them and so they followed him.

Soon they began to have fights and battles with people who believed differently, people who thought that everyone was equal."

Harry sat up a little straighter and said, "It's like with the four friends again isn't it?"

Jareth smiled at the young man, "Yes Harry that is exactly right, it is similar to what the four friends did but on a much bigger scale as now it included all of the people from the magical world.

Now this is where your parents come into the story." Harry's eyes grew even wider and an eager look came over him to hear this, his relatives had never spoken about his parents unless it was to say how bad they were for getting themselves killed as they did.

"Your father was from a fully magical back ground and would have been considered a pure-blood but he did not follow the Evil wizard, he was one of the people that believed everyone should be equal. Your mother was considered to be a non-magical born witch, In the magical world the term used is 'Muggle-born' but this is not a nice way to call a non-magical person and we do not use the word Underground.

As your mother had no magical parents she was considered to be of the lowest class a human magical person could be to Voldemort and his followers.

Because your father is a pure-blood and your mother is a non-magical born, when you were born you are considered to be a half-blood magical."

Jareth let that sink in to the child's mind while he had some more water. Harry blinked his eyes in astonishment a few times before quietly asking, "I have magic but I'm like Voldemort, does this mean I will be bad like him?"

Jareth shook his head, "No little one. Your blood does not define who you are, only your thoughts and actions can do that. Now your parents stood against Voldemort and for this they were targeted by him. It was during this time that a prophecy was made."

Harry suddenly looked unsure and confused at this, guessing what had confused him Jareth explained, "This is when a person can see the future but most of the time when they try to describe it out loud it comes out in a riddle that can be hard to understand."

The confusion cleared on Harry's face so carried on, "Now as I say a prophecy was made and some believe it relates to Voldemort. It told that a person would be born that could stop him; Voldemort thought that this meant you."

Again the confusion was back on Harry's face, "But why would he think it means me?" He asked.

Jareth decided that it was highly unlikely that Harry would understand the Prophecy if he told it to him now, and he was already going to be told a lot of information during the course of the day, "It relates to how the prophecy can be translated and understood, however we have a lot to go over today so I think it best that we leave that topic for another day ok?"

Harry looked like he wanted to ask about but nodded his head, "OK."

A part of Jareth was pleased at how obedient Harry was, however he also knew that it was possibly due not to him being a ruler but to how his relatives had treated him that had stopped Harry from asking any more questions.

Pushing these feeling away, Jareth returned to the story, "Because he thought the Prophecy was about you, Voldemort decided that he needed to get rid of you and so he attacked your home on Halloween."

A look of understanding and horror started to appear in Harry's eyes, "Yes little one," Jareth said softly, "It was in this attack that both of your parents died, they died fighting Voldemort to protect you."

Tears had now filled Harry's eyes and started to fall, he was again looking at his lap and the tears were falling onto his knees, leaving little spots of dampness. Jareth placed a hand on the shoulder closest to him and gave him a few moments of silence before saying in the same soft voice, "Your parents loved you very much little one."

Harry nodded his head to show he had heard but still he kept his head down as the tears still fell. After a few minutes of silence had passed, and Jareth had taken the time to drain the last of the water in his goblet, Jareth broke the silence, "Harry, there is much we still have to go over but for now I think it best of you take a break, go for a walk outside or have something to eat. I will send a goblin to you in a couple of hours and we can continue our talk then ok?"

Harry still hadn't looked up but nodded his head and stood, he was about to leave the room when he stopped and quietly sad, "Thank you for telling me about my parents." With that he quickly ducked out of the room.

Jareth gave a sigh before moving back behind his desk and carrying on with some of his paperwork, including dealing with the matter of Albus Dumbledore.

He had another look through the file on the wizard before drafting a letter to him and then adding it to the tray that would take the letter to the Director of the Bank and the only one who dealt with all correspondence Aboveground on behalf of the King.

xxxx

It was actually two and a half hours later when Harry found himself being led once more back into Jareth's office, this time instead of the two chairs in front of his desk, there was now a two seater sofa with a small coffee table holding two goblets and a pitcher of water, as well as a small plate of cakes just off to the side.

Jareth stood from behind his desk and with a small smile greeted Harry with what was now a set term of endearment for him, "Hello little one, I thought we might be more comfortable like this while we finish our talk." He moved over to the sofa, indicating Harry to join him.

He sat and Harry sat next to him, "If at any time you feel hungry or thirsty help yourself ok?" he said indicating now to the water and cakes.

Harry nodded his head, "Yes Jareth."

Jareth poured them both a goblet of water before sitting back, "Now, you know some of the history of the magical world Aboveground and why your parents were killed which resulted in you being incorrectly placed with your non-magical relatives."

Seeing the look of surprise of Harry's face Jareth answered the unasked question, "Yes little one you were never meant to go to them should anything have happened to your parents. Unfortunately another wizard, who I suspect has his own plans interfered and placed you there."

Anger started to show in Harry's eyes, "however now that you are here, things are going to change, and that is what I wish to talk to you about this afternoon. As I mentioned this morning the law states that if a wisher does not run the Labyrinth then the one wished away is to be turned into a goblin or a creature of the Labyrinth, but you are special Harry, a child of a prophecy that has been deemed one of the rare ones that must be upheld which is why once I knew who you were I went to the Council of the Underground to seek their advice."

Curiosity had now replaced the anger in Harry's eyes and he was once again entranced by what he was being told.

"I told you the history of the magical world Aboveground this morning, so I think it only fitting that I start our talk this afternoon with a little history of where you now are."

Jareth conjured a Crystal and after flicking it through his fingers a few times, handed it to Harry, "Look into the Crystal little one."

Harry took the small globe and looking into it found an image at its centre that seemed to change and rotate between different lands, some beautiful but some harsh and almost desolate looking.

"Long ago, many more years than both the magical and non-magical people can remember in either written or spoken history there was once a strong bridge between the world Aboveground and the Kingdoms of the Underground. Passage between the two was simple and regular for all both magical and non-magical people, much like going to visit a family member or going shopping.

Overtime the two worlds drifted apart and the bridge between them decayed and disappeared, as such only those with any magic can now travel between the two worlds.

The Underground itself is split up into different Kingdoms, some are ruled over by a member of the species that the Kingdom is of, but most are like this one and are ruled by a member of the Fae.

It is the King or Queen of each Kingdom that makes up the Council of the Underground. It is the council that makes all of the laws and helps resolve any problems that occur between the Kingdoms."

Harry nodded his head in understanding, "A bit like the government, I've heard Uncle Vernon go on about the government, he would say that they were making all the wrong laws because they were the wrong government and that he if he ran it all, he would make the right laws to help the people that deserved to be helped and not all the ones that are useless and don't know how to do an honest day's work."

Jareth gave a brief nod, "A good example considering you have spent the first five years of your life in Aboveground. Now I am the ruler of this Kingdom and as such a member of the council I can, if necessary call for emergency meetings of the council to seek their advice which I needed to do for your special case.

You see little one, if I turned you into a goblin or a creature of the Labyrinth, you would lose you magic as a wizard, and this would mean that the prophecy could not be completed. I went to the council to see if there was a way that we could work around the law so that I did not have to change you. The only way we could think off would be for me to adopt you as my Heir and son."

Harry's eyes went wide with shock, he swallowed a few times before managing to get out, "You want to adopt me?"

Jareth gave Harry a full smile, "If you are not disagreeable to the idea yes little one I would like to adopt you."

Harry couldn't believe he was hearing this, for the last couple of years he had spent many nights wishing that some long lost relative would turn up and take him away from his Aunt and Uncle or that some kind stranger would be lonely and want a little boy around to help and now he was being offered just that.

He nodded his head so fast Jareth was worried he would make himself dizzy, "Of course I would love to be your son."

"Well I am happy to hear this little one but unlike Aboveground this is not an easy process, it is not simply signing a few pieces of paper that then state you are my son, it is a little bit more complicated down here Underground."

Harry gave a shrug, unable to lose the smile that now stretched across his face, "I don't mind, if you tell me what I have to do then I will do it."

Jareth couldn't help be amused at the enthusiastic attitude Harry had to do whatever he needed to, "Calm yourself little one, the matter is complicated but the ritual itself is not. First you must understand and then I will teach you the ritual. Now if there is anything that you do not understand or are unsure about at any time do not hesitate to ask me"

Harry just nodded his head again; "Yes Jareth" before sitting up straighter in what he obviously thought was a pose that showed he was trying to be more attentive.

"The first thing is that I need you to remember is that not only am I member of the Fae but I am also the King of the Goblins, this mean that there are three types of magic involved; your human magic, my Fae magic and the Magic of the Kingdom, Goblin magic." Jareth began explaining; "Now the Fae and Goblin magic are both in my blood and so will not cause a problem. The problem will be making sure that you do not lose your human magic. For you to not only become my son but my Heir you have to become a member of my species."

Harry couldn't stop himself blurting out, "I have to become a fairy?"

Jareth immediately frowned, not at the fact he had been interrupted but at what Harry had said and couldn't stop himself from growling, "I am not a bloody Fairy." He hated the way many mortals had lost the true stories and merged the myths that likened the Fae with Fairies, normally any human that tried to call him such were dumped straight into the centre of the Bog of Eternal Stench and made to swim their way out. He had to force back the urge to do this to Harry.

"The Fae are not Fairies. We are beings with powerful magic and do not rely on mortals believing in us to exist. We are also not six inches high with sparkly wings on our backs, at least not by choice." He began explaining in voice that was not a neutral as he had hoped as it still held some of his irritation.

"The Fae are a graceful people that are thought to be cousins to the Elves. And before you ask, the Elves are not like the ones you may have heard about in stories at school either. They are neither small nor mischievous and they are defiantly not cute with little red hats, they are an ancient and incredibly powerful race; to insult an Elf is most likely the last thing you will ever do.

A long time ago for reasons unknown to those outside of their race, the Elves decided to leave the plane of existence for both Above- and Underground, very few remained to 'keep an eye' on things. Those that did stay reside within the Kingdom of the Dragons and travel throughout all of the other Kingdoms periodically.

The High Lord, the one who is the head of and in charge of the council is an Elf, as well as the one in charge of both the other Elves; it is the High Lord that will be coming here to conduct the ritual that will make us father and son."

Harry's eyes were still wide as he heard all of this before asking "I'm going to be a cousin to an Elf?"

Jareth couldn't stop the small laugh that escaped, erasing the irritation he had been feeling, "No little one, at least not as far as I am aware."

The wonder in Harry's eyes deflated a little at this but not by much, "Now," Jareth continued, "The ritual we will be completing in two days' time would under normal conditions make you a full member of the Fae; however changes have been made to ensure that you will only become half-Fae.

This will be enough to make you my son and Heir but will also make sure that your human magic remains intact as you will also be half-human.

Once you are my Son and Heir, I will train you as best as I can to help you learn and control your Fae and Goblin magic, but your human magic I will not be able to help with, that is something we will need to look at when you are older.

Now you have learned a lot of information and we will need to go over the ritual together so that you know what you must do, but for now I think we both need a change of scenery, come I will show you some of the castle that is to be your home."

They both rose and Jareth led the young boy out of his office and gave him a proper tour of the castle which finished with the dining room they would use on a daily basis where the evening meal for them was just being served.

Once they were done Jareth showed Harry to a suite that was just down the hall from his own, "Now little one if you are to be my son and Heir then you need to have a room that reflects your new status, a guest room will not do. As such I have had the goblins preparing this one for you but if you do not like it we can always find one that is better for you?"

He opened the door and Harry was again wide eyed with awe, the first room was as big as the Dursley's living room and had a comfortable looking sofa with a matching armchair next to it set before a fire that was burning merrily. Underneath the window that looked out onto the gardens at the back of the castle was a desk with a solid oak bookcase next to it, there were already some books on it but plenty of room for many more.

To the left there were two doors, one led to a modest sized bathroom, and the other was to the bedroom, which was as big as the living room. It held a big four poster bed with deep blue drapes; on either side were bedside tables that held small but what would be bright lamps. On the left wall was a door that lead into the bathroom as well, while against the wall opposite another large window that looked out onto the same back gardens stood a large wardrobe with a matching set of drawers next to it, both stood empty but Jareth had plans to call in a tailor and have them filled with a new wardrobe for Harry.

Harry was once again wide eyed in wonder, "Th…this is for me?"

Outwardly Jareth smiled at him, inwardly he was cursing the Dursley's, "You are to be a prince of this Kingdom, as such you should have rooms to match that status. The wardrobe and drawers are empty but tomorrow I will have a tailor come and make sure they are filled for you."

Harry looked at the man that was soon to be his new father and launched himself at him, throwing his arms around Jareth's waist and burying his head into him, "Thank you, thank you, thank you so much" Jareth folded his arms around the small boy and returned the hug he was being given.

After staying like this for a few moments Jareth finally pulled Harry back a little, "Now I think that after the late night last night and tomorrow is going to be very busy I think that it best you have an early night."

Harry just nodded his head before picking up the same pyjamas Jareth had made for him the previous night and disappearing into the bathroom. While he was in there Jareth summoned a Goblin and gave it orders to summon a tailor for first thing in the morning.

Harry returned just as it was hurrying out and Jareth spent the next ten minutes putting him to bed before heading back to his office to finish his own work and begin preparations for the next two days.

xxxx

A/N Once again a big thank you to the lovely response I have gotten for this fic. Quite a big chapter today, I did try to break it down and split it into two but honestly I just couldn't find a point where it worked and still allowed it all to flow so I decided to keep it all together and just have a big chapter instead

Keep writing and have fun

V.


	5. Chapter 5 - A New Prince

Disclaimer: I can honestly say that after looking at my poor bank balance I do not own any of the characters that you see and recognise here from either Harry Potter or The Labyrinth, I am just having a little fun with them all

**Chapter Four – A new prince**

The day of the ritual had arrived and Goblins lined the throne room, dressed in what for them could only be considered their best clothes because they were their cleanest. Jareth stood in front of the throne itself, dressed in tight black leather trousers, with soft leather knee high boots a white button down shirt with large sleeves under a deep purple waistcoat that had an intricate pattern sown into it in diamonds.

Next to him stood Harry in a matching outfit, the only difference being that his waistcoat a deep blue and the intricate pattern was in black thread instead of diamonds.

At exactly noon the High Lord appeared in the centre of the room, all of the goblins immediately fell silent in his presence, Jareth bowed deeply to him with Harry copying him as best as he could after two days tutoring.

"Greetings Jareth Király, King of the Goblins." The King of the Dragons intoned in his deep voice, making Harry's skin prickle with goosebumps at the sound of the power evident there.

"Greetings my Lord, welcome to my Kingdom." Jareth replied formally, before stepping to one side and indicating his own throne and continuing, "I invite you to sit and take enjoyment of the food and drink we have prepared."

The High Lord waved his hand, "There is no time for such pleasantries I am here to perform the ritual nothing more."

Inclining his head Jareth responded, "As you wish my Lord. May I present the mortal child, Harry Potter." He stepped closer to Harry and put his hand on his shoulder and moved him forward one step closer to the Elf before them.

Under Jareth's hand Harry was shaking slightly but he forced himself to push the feeling of fear aside, and make the formal bow that Jareth had taught him again, remaining silent at the same time as he had been told.

The High Lord stared at Harry for several long minuets, "Welcome Harry Potter. I am the King of the Dragons and the High Lord of the Underground council. Do you know why I am here today?"

Harry nodded his head a couple of times before forcing his words past the huge lump of fear lodged in his throat, "Yes your Majesty. You're going to make me Jareth's son." His eyes went wide with fear as he realised he had forgotten to say that was an honour to meet him first in response to the introduction before answering the question and he began to stutter, "Erm…I mean it's an honour to meet you my Lord."

Beside him Jareth closed his eyes, not sure what would happen and so was surprised by the deep throated laughter from the High Lord.

"Do not worry young one, or you Goblin King, at only five mortal years of age and you only being in our world for three days, I do not expect you to be perfect, however I am certainly impressed at how well you have pushed aside your fear today. I have known a great deal of adult mortals who were unable to do so."

He spared a glance at the goblins surrounding the throne rooms before looking back at Jareth, "Now I would suggest we begin the ritual but before I do, tell me Jareth are you aware that there is already an anchor for young Harry's human magic present within his blood?"

Jareth's surprised showed on his face, "No my Lord I was not."

The High Lord stepped forward, "Do not be alarmed Harry I wish merely to examine this blood magic that has been cast on you." With that he placed the fingertips of his right hand to the centre of Harry's forehead.

As soon as he touched him, Harry felt a tingle spread out from the gentle pressure of the fingertips, it was in less than a second that it had spread to encompass his entire body.

It was only about ten seconds later that the High Lord removed his fingertips and the feeling disappeared. "Hmmm old mortal magic, I did not think such magic was practiced Aboveground anymore. Well as I have said it will aid in the anchoring of your human magic." He gave a soft smile to Harry before turning back to Jareth, "Tell me Jareth what alterations have you made to the ritual?"

Jareth moved back to stand beside Harry as he replied, "As you know my Lord the ritual requires I spill some of my blood into a goblet and that Harry drinks it, before cuts are made in our palms and pressed together. However we believe that if Harry was to place some of his own blood with mine in the goblet it will provide the anchor necessary to ensure that he becomes only half-Fae."

The High Lord nodded, "That would be acceptable, the blood magic I sense currently residing upon the boy will aid in strengthening that anchor. Very well lets us begin."

With a wave of his hand a short Stone dagger appeared in his right hand while a stone Goblet appeared in his left.

"Jareth Király King of the Goblins you wish to accept the mortal child known as Harry Potter, son of James and Lily Potter as your own Son and Heir. Is there any being present here who wishes to oppose this from happening?"

Silence filled the room for several minutes before the High Lord continued, "Then by the blood of your ancestors that runs through your veins," As he said this Jareth held out his left palm and the High Lord opened a deep cut on it before holding the goblet out and Jareth held his palm over it allowing a steady stream of blood to flow into it. "Which you do willing shed I, Lenwë Telrúnya, King of the Dragons and High Lord of the Underground council do deem you acceptable to be the child's father."

Jareth removed his palm from above the goblet and turned it face up so that no blood dropped onto the floor, but didn't heal it over just yet.

The High Lord then turned to Harry and said, "Harry Potter, son of James and Lily potter, do you wish to be the Son and Heir of Jareth Király the Goblin King?"

Harry took a deep breath before saying the words that would seal his fate, "Yes my Lord I do."

"And do you wish to continue going by the name of Harry Potter?"

Jareth had explained to Harry the previous night that this was important because in magic both Above- and Underground names held a great deal of power, it was why their full names were being used in the ritual, not even the High Lord could avoid using his for the magic to recognise the ritual and succeed.

Harry had wanted to get rid of his name, a decision that had pleased Jareth, but he had been forced to play devil's advocate and remind the small boy that one day he would have to return to the world Aboveground and that a lot of mortals would be placing a lot of emphasis on the fact that he be called Harry Potter, after discussing it thoroughly they had finally come to a decision.

"No my Lord I wish my full name to be known as Jared Harry Potter Király"

The High Lord smiled but didn't comment, "Very well then I ask is there any being here who is opposed to Harry Potter becoming Jared Harry Potter Király the legal son and Heir of Jareth Király the King of the Goblins?"

Again the question was met by nothing but silence, "Then Jared Harry Potter Király by the blood of your ancestors that runs through your veins" here Harry held his hand up as he had been told to do, the High Lord then made a similar cut as the one he had done to Jareth on Harry's left palm before leaning down slightly to hold the goblet under his palm so that the blood could flow into it, "Which you do willingly shed I, Lenwë Telrúnya King of the Dragons and High Lord of the Underground council deem you acceptable to become the Son and Heir of Jareth Király King of the Goblins."

When he pulled the stone goblet away from under the boy's hand, he straitened back to his full height and continued, "Press the cuts together and repeat after me." Jareth and Harry clasped their hands together, at the same time Jareth managed to give Harry a small smile of reassurance before he returned his attention to the High Lord.

"I, Jareth Király, King of the Goblins do accept you Jared Harry Potter Király as my Son and Heir, may you grow strong and bring honour to our family."

Jareth repeated the words and then with his free right hand accepted the stone goblet that the High Lord passed to him and took a mouthful of the mixed bloods, swallowing quickly before passing the goblet back.

The High Lord now looked at Harry, "I, Jared Harry Potter Király do accept." Here the High Lord paused, after all Harry was only five and it was a bit much to ask him to remember all of the words in one go.

Harry repeated slowly, "do accept to be." Another pause with slow repeating, "Jareth Király, King of the Goblins Son and Heir." Again pause and repeat, "And give my word to always attempt." By now Harry's face was screwed tightly in concentration as he steadily repeated the words, "to be strong and bring honour." Jareth watched Harry determinedly repeated the words carefully not getting a single one wrong, "to my father and our family."

With the final words said and repeated The High Lord, instead of handing the heavy stone goblet to the young boy held it to his mouth and slowly tipped it back so that Harry could drink of the mixed bloods.

After taking a mouthful Harry immediately began to feel an intense tingle spreading throughout his body but he had been told to expect it and so he pushed it to the back of his mind forcing his concentration onto the powerful being in front of him and his final words even as the tingle kept growing in intensity.

"As you accept the sharing of blood I decree by the ancient laws of both blood and magic that you are now father and son and nothing can break this bond."

Silence filled the throne for a few minutes, then slowly a cheer amongst the goblins began it was when they saw it would not be stopped but either Kings that it continued to grow in volume sparking the start for the celebrations throughout the whole Kingdom.

The stone knife and goblet disappeared back to where the High Lord had summoned them from as he stepped forward to wave a hand over the palm of Jareth and Jared to heal the cuts before shaking Jareth's in congratulations and with a smile said, "An interesting choice in names for your son."

Jareth shrugged, "He wanted to get rid of his old mortal name completely and go by Jareth but I decided it would be too confusing and so managed to persuade him to accept the version given to princes assuring him that should I ever retire he can assume the Kingly name of Jareth then, as well as how important his old name would be when he returns Aboveground."

The High Lord laughed, "I'm sure that is exactly how it went." He knew the Goblin King better to be aware that when it came to the name Jared, it was more likely that it had been the other way around.

When he turned to offer his congratulations to Jared, he could easily see the sweat beginning to form on the small boy's brow and he couldn't help raising an eyebrow.

Truthfully as soon as the ritual had ended he had expected the young boy to pass out due to the sudden transformation that was happening within his small body, certainly he had seen it before in those much older mortals then Jared.

He glanced at the new father, "Impressive, your son will grow to be a very strong young man if this moment is any indication." He stepped over and rested his hands on the five-year-olds shoulder, "I thank you for this effort to show me respect but it is not necessary."

As soon as he said this Jared smiled at the tall King and managed to choke out, "Thank you my Lord." before promptly passing out.

There was a brief pause from the surrounding goblins as they showed concern for their new prince but seeing the child in the capable hands of their King and the High Lord they soon returned to their celebrations.

The High Lord easily stopped the small body from falling to the ground; he turned with him in his arms and passed Jared to his new father, "Ensure he is comfortable and gets plenty of rest Jareth, the next few hours will greatly tax his body as it undergoes the changes."

Jareth inclined his head, "I will my Lord. You are welcome to stay and partake in the celebrations marking the arrival of my new son."

The High Lord merely smiled, "Thank you for your hospitality Goblin King but as I said I am merely here for the ritual. However after his impressive actions today I intend to keep my eye on him, perhaps I may even teach him the way of the Dragons when he is old enough. Be well Jareth King of the Goblins."

Jareth bowed with the small boy still in his arms shocked but more than pleased and honoured at the opportunity that had just been offered his new son, it had easily been two or three centuries since the last time the High Lord himself had taught anyone. "Be well my Lord."

The High Lord faded from view and Jareth left the throne room to ensure that his son was comfortably settled before going to join the celebrations.

He only stayed to celebrate for a few hours before retiring to his study, the sounds of partying in the Labyrinth heard clearly from his study window. There he conjured several crystals and sent them off Aboveground with the message to all of the goblin Directors in the banks around the world that they had a new Prince and that the Lockdown on the Kingdom was now removed.

It was at the same time that the goblin director of the London branch was following his Kings ordered to send out a letter at that exact moment, a letter that he had received a couple of days prior to one Albus Dumbledore.

xxxx

A/N Thank you all for the lovely words I have been getting on your reviews as well as all the people who have been putting this on their favourites and follow lists, it is greatly appreciated.

Also just to let you know now that Harry has a new name I will be referring to him as Jared from now on in all future chapters.

Keep writing and have fun

V.


	6. Chapter 6 - The search ends

Disclaimer: I can honestly say that after looking at my poor bank balance I do not own any of the characters that you see and recognise here from either Harry Potter or The Labyrinth, I am just having a little fun with them all

**Chapter Six – The search ends**

It was the morning of the fourth day since the search for Harry Potter began; sitting behind his desk with his head in his hands Albus Dumbledore heard an owl flutter into his office.

Reaching for the piece of parchment tied to its legs he couldn't help the slight flicker of hope that maybe it was from one of the people he had out looking for the precious child.

Opening it he found himself reading a short letter written in elegant writing.

_Albus Dumbledore, _

_Headmaster of Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry, Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorcerer, Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confederation of Wizards._

_Greetings to you, _

_I understand you have recently been seeking information from the goblins of the London branch of Gringotts bank in regards to a crystal you retrieved from a non-magical child who goes by the name of Dudley Dursley._

_I believe I should inform you that the crystal was a gift from me to the child mentioned above and your removal of it from his possession is not something I am happy with._

_I have been informed that you also seek information in regards to the child Harry Potter. _

_Unfortunately the information on this matter cannot be contained within a letter as such I invite you to summon me with the below words but be warned Albus Dumbledore, this summons will work only once._

'_I request and summon the presence of the Goblin King'_

_Signed,_

_King of the Goblins, Lord of the Labyrinth, Duke of Deceit, Member of the Underworld Council, Owner and Chief Executive Officer of Gringotts Bank._

Dumbledore blinked in surprise, and re-read the letter before slowly putting it down on his desk. Of course he had heard the rumours that the Goblins had a king and that they all obeyed him no matter what his orders were, and then there was the famous bedtime story that all children with a member of family in the magical world got told, but that was just a story surely there was no truth in it.

But could he risk it, could he risk the only clue he had in discovering the location of Harry Potter being nothing more than a joke. He sat for an hour debating what to do before finally making his decision.

Taking a deep breath he recited the words on the letter, "I request and summon the presence of the Goblin King"

The sky outside the window darkened as thick black clouds covered the sky. A crash of thunder and a strong wind blew through the office window, causing Dumbledore's long white beard to fly up into his face.

As quickly as the bad weather had arrived it disappeared, leaving a clear blue sky, but now the King of the Goblins stood just in front of the window, as soon as he saw the Headmaster he found himself fighting the urge to snicker cruelly at the sight of the old man pushing his beard out of his face and attempting to return it to some sort of order.

With his beard back under control Dumbledore stared wide eyed at the man standing before him, "Are you the Goblin King?" He asked causing Jareth to smirk and step further into the room.

"I am." He answered, but before he sank into the chair before the desk, Jareth gave a nod of respect to the Phoenix on the gold perch off to the side of the desk, "Greetings to you youngling Fawkes, Her Majesty Arwen has asked that I send her greetings and well wishes to you."

Fawkes bowed its head to Jareth and gave several trills at this; some short and some long, as he watched this Dumbledore managed to get himself back under control and then promptly asked, "What happened to Harry Potter? How did his cousin come into the possession of one of your crystals?"

Jareth frowned at him, "Is that how you address a King? Such disrespect"

Dumbledore tried to project his grandfatherly aura at the man, "My apologies Sire, I am merely concerned for the welfare of young Harry."

Jareth's smirk returned as he quite happily said, "Now, Dudley Dursley made a wish, a wish I answered and granted, in return I gave him a gift, a gift that you stole."

Dumbledore frowned slightly at this, "I assure you sire, young Mr Dursley gave me the crystal willingly."

Jareth's eyes narrowed, "Albus, you should not lie to me, I see through them all, you used magic to force the child to give you the crystal so that it appeared he was willing."

"It was necessary, Harry Potter is extremely important to us and I gave my word that I would watch over him."

A spike of anger began to creep its way into Jareth's eyes, "If that is so then why did you never check on the child?"

Dumbledore smiled and his full grandfatherly visage was on full blast, "I left Harry with his Aunt, I am sure they are raising him as their own."

The temperature in the office dropped to an icy cold, a cold fury emanating from Jareth, "do you consider being made to sleep in a cupboard under the stairs as treating him as one of their own? Do you consider being made to do all the chores with the promise of food as a reward but then being denied the food on the flimsiest of excuses as treating him as one of their own? Do you consider being made to dress in rags as treating him as one of their own?"

Dumbledore's faced paled, not at what he was hearing, he had known life at the Dursley's would be hard on the boy, it was why he had placed Harry there so that he would grow up humbled and view his re-entry to the wizarding world as a miracle and that it was a haven giving him all the more reason to become his ultimate weapon for destroying Voldemort, no he paled at the fact he had been discovered. He decided he had no choice but to try and bluff that he had thought it would be different and would of course remove the child.

"I assure you I had no idea he was being treated so, if you will tell me where Harry is, I will ensure he is placed somewhere that will be much better for him." He continued to smile benignly, sure that the goblin King would do as he asked, after all he was Albus Dumbledore, the Leader of the Light.

Jareth could tell what the old man was thinking, he forced himself calm, knowing that such people who thought that only they could see what was best for everyone and so had to be in control could never be persuaded otherwise.

Keeping his voice calm Jareth said, "What you ask for cannot be done, Harry Potter, Son of James and Lily Potter is no more."

Dumbledore could not believe what he was hearing, it was impossible Harry was the child of the prophecy he couldn't be dead only Voldemort could kill the child just as only Harry could kill Voldemort he was sure of this.

"Impossible, Harry Potter is still alive." He stood up behind his desk and made an effort to release the aura of his magic, something that always intimidated people into doing what he wanted; the office was flooded with the sense of his power, "I demand you return him to me immediately."

Jareth raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed, "Sit down, and remember that you are speaking to a King, demand something from me again and I will leave and any chance you have of obtaining any information regarding the child that was once Harry Potter will be gone."

Dumbledore glared at the young man in front of him, "You will tell me where Harry Potter is?"

Jareth stood gracefully, "You were warned, good day Albus Dumbledore." He turned and walked to the window, seeing he was about to leave Dumbledore deflated.

"No, wait." He said in a voice that had a hint if pleading to it, "It is very important to the whole wizarding world that he be found."

Jareth sneered at him, "and yet the moment you are given a chance to obtain any information, you throw it away all because you cannot accept that there are ones you have no power or authority over."

Dumbledore sat back down behind his desk, "You are correct and I apologise." Jareth could see clearly that he neither meant his apology or believed that he could possibly have no power over anyone but he knew that it was important for his son to one day attend a human magic school and as this was the one his parents attended he thought it would be the best way to honour their memory by having Jared go here too.

He returned to the seat in front of the desk, "Very well, however should I feel at any time that you are not showing me the proper respect I will leave." After Dumbledore had nodded his head in acknowledgment of this Jareth continued, "Four days ago, before you stole my gift from Dudley Dursley he made a wish to have Harry Potter taken by the King of the Goblins, as is my duty I answered and granted that wish. When asked if he would like to run my Labyrinth to re-claim his cousin Dudley refused choosing the gift of the crystal instead."

Dumbledore jumped at this chance almost desperately saying, "Then I ask that I be allowed to run your Labyrinth in hopes of reclaiming the child."

Jareth shook his head smirking, "I am afraid that the law's state that no substitute can run in place of the wisher, they and they alone can run the Labyrinth. As soon as Dudley refused to run my Labyrinth Harry Potter became mine to do with as I pleased."

Again Dumbledore's face was white and there was more of a pleading tone to his voice as he said, "Please, the child must be returned he is extremely important to the wizarding world, please let me run the Labyrinth for him."

Jareth lost the smirk on his face, "That is impossible the law is the law and what was said was said. It would be unwise for you to attempt to force the issue.

Now I have allowed you this audience not only to ensure that you do not continue annoying the Goblins of the bank, but to also inform you that as a result of a meeting of the Underground council, the child Harry Potter was recognised as being a child of a prophecy that has been deemed as one that must be allowed to come about."

Hope and a certain amount of smug satisfaction appeared in Dumbledore's eyes when he heard this, Jareth ignored it and continued, "As such they decreed that the child was not to be turned into a creature of the Labyrinth, but the law is the law and so the child had to be changed in line with the Kingdom that the wish had been a part of. Therefore yesterday Harry Potter, son of James and Lily Potter underwent a ritual that would change him forever."

A look of horror began to show on Dumbledore's face and he asked, "What ritual? What have you done to him?"

The smirk re-appeared on Jareth's face, "Harry Potter is no more, his place has been taken by Prince Jared, my Son and Heir."

Dumbledore sat there in silence, too shocked by this to do anything as it slowly sank in, finally he managed to say, "Then the wizarding world is doomed, he was our last hope for peace and now he is a goblin."

Jareth sneered at him, "Do I look like a goblin to you or have you gotten so old in your mortal years that your eyes have begun to fail you? My son is now Half-human and Half-….well that would be telling.

We of the Underground have an understanding of things that you mortals never could, and we live by rules and laws that you know nothing about, by ensuring that Jared is half human, his human magic is untouched by the ritual that makes him my Son and Heir as well as appeasing the Law that he be changed."

Dumbledore sagged in relief, "Thank Merlin." He muttered to himself before looking at the Goblin King again, "Then he can still be returned, I will see that he placed somewhere that is safe for him to grow up before he comes to Hogwarts"

Jareth lost all appearances of amusement and practically snarled at the headmaster, "Prince Jared is my son and he will be raised in the Kingdom of the Goblins Underground, any attempt to remove him will be a declaration of war."

Dumbledore once more began to allow the feeling of his aura and power to fill the office, thinking that the young man before him would not be too hard to overcome, "I cannot allow you to keep Harry Potter from me."

Jareth made a sharp gesture and Dumbledore suddenly found himself pulled back against his chair, a force holding him in place. "Hear me and hear me well," Jareth's voice was cold and clear, "you are nothing to me, and if it was not for the fact that Prince Jared's mother and father attended here I would not even be considering allowing him to attend your school when the time to train his human magic comes.

Upon his eleventh birthday you may send your opening letter to the England branch of Gringotts in London, they will ensure that it is received. Send any other correspondence or bother the Goblins in any matter that is not related to your own vault or the one belonging to the school and I will consider your actions as an act of war on the Goblins."

Jareth stood and once again looked at Fawkes, "I strongly suggest you consider carefully if this wizard is still worthy of your friendship youngling, I will pass your message on to Her Majesty for you." Fawkes once again bowed its head to Jareth before the tall man walked to the window.

"Should you tell anyone of this conversation, the location of my son or his connection to the goblins and regardless of if James and Lily Potter attended this school, I will place him elsewhere."

With that the storm clouds formed outside to darken the sky again and the wild wind screamed through causing Dumbledore's beard to fly into his face once more missing just how it was that the Goblin King got around the extremely powerful wards of Hogwarts to travel.

Finding himself alone Dumbledore sighed and after a few moments moved to recall all of the search parties he had in place wondering just what he was going to say to cover this all of this up.

xxxx

A/N Thank you everyone for the lovely response that is still on going and thank you the people that have taken the time to review every chapter it is greatly appreciated.

I was going to take a pause on posting anymore after this chapter, however I have decided to post just one more tomorrow, please be aware that once tomorrows chapter is up I will then be taking a week's pause before putting up any more.

Keep writing and have fun

V.


	7. Chapter 7 - A New Queen

Disclaimer: I can honestly say that after looking at my poor bank balance I do not own any of the characters that you see and recognise here from either Harry Potter or The Labyrinth, I am just having a little fun with them all

**Chapter Seven – A New Queen**

A year passed Underground and the fateful run by Sarah through the Labyrinth occurred.

The Labyrinth rebuilt itself in a matter of moments after Sarah and Toby returned Aboveground, but it was now two months later and Jareth still sulked, not only at the fact that he was defeated but at being rejected by Sarah, for the first time in centuries he had found himself truly attracted to someone, he had fallen in love with Sarah, for her strength, stubbornness and innocence with all his heart.

Finally Prince Jared decided he had had enough and so standing outside his father's private study he took a deep breath and braced himself before knocking and pushing the door open.

Jareth looked up as he walked in and moved to stand in front of his father's desk, scowling Jareth said, "Jared I am very busy, if it's not important I will see you for training in an hour."

Jared just stood there in front of the desk and determined to do this no matter what, "It is important father. Your miserable and its being reflected in the Labyrinth, not just the creatures in it but the Labyrinth itself is miserable. Go see Sarah and ask her to come back."

The frown on Jareth's face deepened and he snapped, "You are six years old and now nothing about the matter. Even if you did it is no business of yours. Now leave."

But Jared stayed exactly where he was, willing to face even his father's anger, "No. Your miserable and its horrible to live with you like this, and the Labyrinth agrees."

Jareth glared at his son, he stood and moved around his desk but before he could do or say anything further the ground gave a lurch and the whole castle shook, they both became unsteady on their feet.

Instinctively Jareth reached out and grabbed Jared to help and protect him as well as grabbing the desk at the same time to secure them both from falling.

The ground continued to shake as the Labyrinth itself made to support the young prince in his argument against the King. It soon settled knowing that its point will have been made and Jareth was able to relax his tight grip on his son's shoulders but he didn't let go, instead he pulled him into a hug.

"You and the Labyrinth are a pair of meddlesome pests, but I suppose that is what I must live with." A faint trace of amusement coloured his voice only to disappear moments later with his next comment, "But no matter what any of us wants I cannot simply 'go and get Sarah'. She refused my offer, defeated the Labyrinth and me before returning Aboveground. The law is clear in this matter, the wish was fulfilled, the run completed with Sarah as the winner.

Even if I could go to her, which I cannot unless she summons me, her actions made it clear, she would more than likely reject me as opposed to return and be my Queen and your mother."

Jared stepped back out of the embrace to look at Jareth, "I know I'm still too young to be in the Labyrinth while there is a wisher making a run, but I do watch what happens and I liked Sarah. You need to find a way and ask her if she wants to return. It's the only way you will ever know if she was really rejecting you or just doing what was right and protecting her little brother." With that he turned and left the study.

Jareth watched him walk out before he returned to his chair behind his desk; leaning his head back he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. He did this several times, working to calm himself after the storm of emotions that his brief conversation with Jared had stirred up.

When he opened his eyes again he conjured a crystal and whispered, "Show me Sarah." The centre of the crystal flickered with light before the image of the beautiful but young woman took its place.

He loved Sarah, he knew this in his very heart and soul, but she was fifteen years old, how could he ask her to make such a commitment to him at such a young age. No even if he could find a way to reach her he could never ask her to give up her life like that, no matter what his son or the Labyrinth said or did.

He gave a sigh and was about to destroy the crystal when he felt the jerk of being summoned, along with her voice echoing both in his ears and from the crystal.

"I summon the king of the goblins to answer my questions."

After the familiar feeling of travelling Aboveground passed Jareth blinked and found himself standing at the bedroom window belonging to Sarah, the very same one he had watched her through having a party with his subjects as he sat on the branch of the tree outside in his owl form.

"Hello Sarah." He greeted her quietly, barely able to believe that he was standing there so soon after being confronted by his son about her.

Sarah had been facing the mirror of her dressing table when she had spoken the words, not sure if they would work, turning at the sound of Jareth's voice she replied in an equally quiet voice, "Hello Jareth. I didn't think you would come."

He arched an eyebrow, "Why because you thought you had destroyed me and my Labyrinth or because you thought us nothing but a dream?"

Sarah gave a small shrug but stared at him defiantly, "A little of both I guess, but if you're here I guess I was wrong and it was all real."

He gave her one of his rare genuine smiles and for the first time she saw him smile without any cruelty or malic within in it.

As he moved to take a seat on the side of her bed across from her position at the dressing table, he stretched his long legs out and crossed them at the ankles saying, "Well you summoned me to answer some questions so please ask away."

She frowned at him, "How do I know I can trust that you'll tell me the truth?"

"Sarah," Jareth locked eyes with her, "I have never lied to you Sarah, not once when you were in my Kingdom did I lie to you, and would not do so now. You have my word I will speak only the truth."

Sarah let the silence between them stretch for a few moments, before asking, "What did you mean just now when you said about how I thought I had destroyed the Labyrinth? I did I saw it in pieces."

Jareth replied, "It is true you managed to make your way to the core of the Labyrinth and as such destroyed it, but what is not known to mortals is that when a wisher runs the Labyrinth and makes the final decision, the Labyrinth re-makes itself. When it did so after your run it took me two days to completely map the new areas that appeared, as a safety precaution I had to forbid Jared from entering it during that time, there are times when his curiosity can make him a mischievous pest."

Sarah frowned in confusion, "Who's Jared?"

Jareth couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face, "My meddlesome son who by strange coincidence had just finished telling me how horrible I have been to live with since you won and insisted, with the help of the Labyrinth itself that I come and see you just before you summoned me."

A look of shock passed across Sarah's face at the news of Jareth having a son and blurted out, "You have a son?"

Jareth nodded, "Yes I have a son, he is six, his birth parents died when he was not much older than one, the relatives he went to were…unpleasant. His cousin made a wish but unlike you refused to run the Labyrinth. Due to some special circumstances I decided to adopt him and so last year through a special blood ritual he became my son and Heir."

Sarah was filled with pity for the poor boy, that his cousin would not run the Labyrinth and with the hesitation Jareth had made when describing them, Sarah could not help feeling both pity for what had been and at the same time happy that Jareth had taken him, she had a feeling that when he was not tormenting a wisher in the Labyrinth he was a decent man and King with a good heart. She could never forget the look he had in his eyes when they had danced in the ballroom.

Sarah gave a small smile, "What is he like?"

Jareth couldn't stop the small snort of laughter, "He is scamp who loves to run through the Labyrinth causing mischief when he should be studying."

The silence stretched between them again, this time there was no tension though; eventually Sarah gave a small sigh and asked, "What would have happened if I had given into you? When we were at the centre of the Labyrinth, if I had accepted your offer what would have happened?"

The smile disappeared from his face and he grew serious, "I would have turned Toby into a creature of the Labyrinth or a goblin, most likely a goblin in his case, as is the Law. I would have taken you for my Queen but you would never have forgiven yourself for Toby being changed and your heart would have hardened until you were barely even a shadow of who you are now. Finally I would have grown tired of you and dissolved our marriage and cast you back Aboveground without a second thought."

Sarah's eyes had gone wide and filled with horror at what he told her, "You never did love me?" she whispered when he had finished, tears starting to build in her eyes.

He stood and went straight to her, kneeling in front of where she sat he softly cupped her face with his hand, "Sarah, listen to me Sarah, I love you with all my heart, what I described that is only what would have happened had you lost and given into me that day. You won and that cannot happen now, now I am free to give you my heart with no consequences to fear save having it broken by you."

She stared into his eyes, unable to look away as he spoke, the tears that had built up starting to fall, "I love you Jareth." She whispered back at him, they stayed like that for several long moments before Jareth made himself stand and return to his place on the edge of the bed.

Sarah grabbed a tissue from her dressing table and wiped at the dampness on her cheeks, "So what now?" she asked him.

Jareth gave a small sigh and scrubbed a hand across his face, "Now I return to the Kingdom Underground and you continue on with your life and forget about me."

Sarah shook her head, "How can say that? If we love each other why can't you remain here or I could come back to the Labyrinth and stay with you?"

"Sarah, my love there was a time long ago, before the one known as Merlin and King Arthur created the golden age of Albion or even before the Romans ruled the world that my people lived here Aboveground. But then things changed and we no longer belonged here, the Underground is where we belong now. I could not remain here and there is nothing more that I want than to take you back with me but you are too young, you are only fifteen."

Sarah shook her head at him now, "I don't care, all I think about every minute is how I am not with you, Toby is safe and while things are a little better with my dad and step-mom I'm not happy here. The only time I was happy was when I was running the Labyrinth, and since I got back thinking about it and my friends there are all that helps me get through my days.

Please Jareth, I want to be with you, I want to see my friends and look out my window and see the Labyrinth spread out beneath it. I want to meet your son and help him cause mischief." She had slowly started to cry again, but had also stood up and taken a step towards him during her speech.

Jareth stood and pulled her into his arms, a hint of amusement in his tone as he sad, "I have no doubt that is exactly what would happen if you two became friends, he has never even met you and yet already his actions say that he likes you."

He pushed her back slightly so he could look down into her eyes, "Sarah are you sure this is what you want? There will be no turning back this time?"

She gazed into his eyes and slowly cupped his face as he had done earlier, "I love you and I don't want to lose you again." She raised herself up on tiptoe and placed a gentle kiss on his lips which he eagerly returned.

They stood there for several minutes kissing before Jareth stopped and pushing her back again said, "Gather quickly that which you want to take with you"

She smiled and rushed around her room, grabbing a bag from her wardrobe she quickly threw in the few items she could not part with, a few pictures of her parents and half-brother, as well as few pieces of jewellery and some knick-knacks along with her favourite items of clothing. Once she was done Jareth again pulled her close and said, "Come my Queen let us return to our Kingdom."

He had intended to send them back to the throne room and summon Jared to introduce them both, but felt as they travelled back something grab them and alter the destination and there was only one person that he knew would do that, one race alone had the knowledge and the power to do it; the Elves.

They arrived in the council chambers where to Sarah's confusion, the council members amusement and Jareth's embarrassment there hung a large globe over the centre of the table, much like his own crystals, depicting both Sarah and himself.

It currently showed them standing in the council room but Jareth was sure that it had been there much longer, most likely not long after Sarah had summoned him to her room. The High Lord gave a wave of his hand and the globe disappeared.

Jareth gave the customary bow required to the High Lord and indicated to Sarah that she should copy him, which she did but with a look of uncertainty on her face and she kept throwing questioning glances at Jareth.

The High Lord with a huge grin on his face stepped towards them waving off their bows, "Greetings Jareth Király King of the Goblins, greetings Sarah Williams; May I be the first to congratulate you both on your upcoming union."

Jareth flushed bright red as he gave a polite incline of his head, "I thank you my Lord." He turned and with a smile said to Sarah, "Sarah may I introduce you to the King of the Dragons and High Lord of the Underground council."

Sarah went wide eyed at this before dropping into another curtsey towards to the High Lord, "Your Majesty, I…I thank you for your kind words."

The High Lord smiled at her, "I thank you Sarah Williams, please stand you do not need to bow here at this time."

Sarah stood back up and Jareth slipped one hand into hers, before he could enquire as to why they had been brought there a beautiful woman stepped forward and approached them, "Congratulations to you both, although perhaps I should give my commiserations to you Sarah, after all you will have to put up with Jareth here."

Jareth immediately scowled at the woman while Sarah couldn't help giggling at her comment, soon enough they were surrounded by everyone there offering their congratulations.

Once that was done the High Lord indicated that they all return to their places around the table, Jareth guided Sarah over to stand where his seat stood only to finally realise that all the chairs were absent from around the table.

"As you may have noticed Jareth we decide to do without the chairs as we thought it best to stand while the ritual was being conducted."

Jareth frowned, "Ritual my Lord?" he asked to which the High Lord merely nodded his head.

"Of course, the ritual to change Sarah here to a member of the Fae race, or do you wish your union to last for only the length of a human lifetime?" Turning away from the shocked couple he asked the other members of the council, "Valentia Queen of Unicorns I believe you expressed an interest in aiding in the ritual for Sarah Williams?"

The same beautiful woman from before stepped forward and spoke, "Indeed my Lord, I would be happy to accept Sarah Williams into my family if she will accept me." She gave a smile to Sarah as she said this.

The High Lord turned to Sarah, "Well Sarah Williams will you accept Queen Valentia's offer."

Sarah could not believe the sudden change that everything was taking; swallowing her fear back she looked at Jareth and asked herself, did she want to spend eternity with this man? Was she willing to change so much just for him? Was she willing to stop being Human for him?

As soon as she asked herself these questions she knew the answer.

Yes.

She loved Jareth and thought of someday losing him even to old age was unbearable. Turning back to the High Lord she smiled and said, "Yes my Lord, I accept her Majesty's offer." She hadn't realised how tense Jareth had become beside her while they waited for her answer until she felt him relax.

Ten minutes later and Sarah was now the blood sister to the Queen of the Unicorns. She tried to push away the feelings of tingling that she had begun to feel as soon as she had drunk from the Stone Goblet but was quickly feeling herself getting weaker and weaker in the struggle.

"Once again I find myself impressed with the humans that you bring into your life Jareth," The High Lord said, seeing the effort Sarah was making to stay awake much as Harry had done the year before, "Take your Queen home and see she gets the rest she needs. Inform us when you intend for the union to take place and we will be happy to help you celebrate." The High Lord said gently to the Goblin King who with a bow of his head and a thanks to not only him but the rest of the council gathered Sarah up in his arms and returned to his castle, where he placed her gently onto his own bed letting her sleep.

Over the course of the next two weeks the marriage of the Goblin King and Sarah was held, it was also during this time, much to the annoyance of Jareth, that his Queen and the Prince found out they got on very well, often ganging up on Jareth in regards to such things as working too hard on matters of the Kingdom or Jared's training.

Soon enough things settled down, and the Kingdom ran smoothly. It was several months later and Sarah gave Jareth the happy news that he was to be a father again and Jared was going to have a little brother or sister.

As soon as they heard this, they both made it their new mission to ensure Sarah was safe and happy during the pregnancy; a pregnancy which nine months later resulted in the new Princess of the Goblin Kingdom.

And so time passed Underground. By the time young Jared turned elven he was not only helping his father and stepmother with any wishers who ran the Labyrinth but was also the lead prankster amongst his younger sisters and brother.

xxxx

A/N In case anyone was wondering the difference between Harry/Jared's adoption ritual and Sarah's to become the sister of Queen Valentia is that only Valentia put blood in the stone cup not Sarah, I had Harry/Jared put some in during his ritual so that there would be human blood in the mix to ensure he becomes Half-Human and Half-Fae but that is not needed or wanted for Sarah who becomes Full Fae. Also the human blood would have no effect on Jareth as the ritual was aimed at Harry/Jared, it would have only effected him if it had been aimed the other way around, the intent being the important thing with the magic and all that :)

And so this brings us up to just before the return to the wizarding world and Hogwarts begins for young Harry/Jared which is why I thought it a better place to stop and pause.

I do have most of the fic finished, I am up to Christmas, and so I am hoping to have it finished in the next week or two, either way I am going to take a week's pause from posting but I do intend to do the same again of posting 7 chapters, one a day beginning next Tuesday.

Until then, thank you for the lovely responses I have been getting for this.

Keep writing and have fun

V.


	8. Chapter 8 - The return begins

Disclaimer: I can honestly say that after looking at my poor bank balance I do not own any of the characters that you see and recognise here from either Harry Potter or The Labyrinth, I am just having a little fun with them all

**Chapter Eight– The return begins**

The letter arrived with all of the other mail from Gringotts early in the morning. Jareth received three deliveries of mail a day from all of the banks and so would often wait until the second delivery before beginning to start looking through them.

Since adopting Jared, Jareth had stated taking more of an interest in the business of the banks, after all if this was to be the world his Son and Heir was to walk into he wanted to know more about it and what better way than to know not only how well the economy was doing but also who the richest and as is generally the case the most influential members of it were.

On the day of Jared's birthday though, as with all his children Jareth took the day off and spent it with them, therefore it was not until the day after that the letter was found.

Breakfast had finished half an hour ago and Jared had been about to do some weapons training when he had been summoned to his father's office. Now he stood before the door to it and was trying to remember what the last prank had been that could have been tied back to him or the last time he had been in the Labyrinth, anything that could explain why he had been summoned to the one place the young Princes and Princesses were not allowed to go.

Shaking his head not being able to come up with anything, he knocked and receiving permission to enter pushed the door open to see his father sitting behind what appeared to be a suspiciously clear desk and Sarah standing behind him with one hand resting on his shoulder.

"Come in Jared there is something that we must talk about." Jareth said waving him closer. As he moved to stand in front of the desk, Jared saw the single unopened letter sitting on it.

"Have I done something wrong father?" he asked worried the letter was from one of the other rulers complaining about him, or Gods forbid the High Lord saying he had done something wrong especially as his father looked way too serious for this to be about some prank being discovered.

Jareth couldn't stop the small smirk he gave his son at the assumption that he had been summoned for doing some kind of mischief "No Jared, you have done nothing wrong this time." The smirk disappeared as he resumed a serious look, "As you know when it is the birthday for anyone in this family I take the day off from work, it is for this reason that I did not receive this letter until I returned to my office this morning. It is a letter for you." With that he picked the letter up off his desk and leaning forward slightly handed it to Jared.

Jared looked at it in dread, he had hoped after how good a day they had had yesterday that this had all been forgotten the same dread could be heard in his voice, "For me, then I guess this means it's the letter to the human magic school you've told me about during training?", he looked at the yellowed envelope addressed not to Prince Jared but to:

_Mr Harry Potter_

_C/O Gringotts Bank_

_Goblin Kingdom_

_Underground_

Turning it over he saw the crest of the school for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry adorned the back in purple wax.

Looking back at his father and Stepmother he frowned and asked, "They didn't address it correctly, it's to Harry Potter not Prince Jared, does this mean I can refuse it and stay here? You could teach me how to use my human magic can't you father?"

Jareth looked at him sadly, "I'm sorry Jared but this is something I cannot help you with, you have to go to a mortal school, and as Hogwarts is the one your birth parents attended I thought it a fitting way to honour them if you went there as well."

Jared gave a nod at that, he had been told about his parents and the sacrifice they had made, not only on the first full day he had been here but several times over the years of training he had received. He knew about them, the wizarding world and the war with Voldemort, he even knew about Voldemort's real name and some of his history.

Looking back at the letter in his hands he broke the seal, opened the envelope and pulled out the piece of yellowed parchment inside, unfolding it he read the letter written in emerald green ink out loud.

He read it through fully before looking to his father and asking, "Why does it keep saying Mr Potter? Do they not know Aboveground that it is only my middle name and I am now known as Prince Jared? Will I have to be called Harry Potter instead while I'm at this school?"

Jareth shook his head, "No you don't. It would seem that while I informed the Headmaster of the school about the change in your name and status, the mortals Aboveground are ignoring it in an effort to force you to be only Harry Potter. Do you remember your lessons on how important names are and our discussions on why I had you keep it as your middle names?"

He waited for Jared's nod before continuing, "When you meet anyone or reach the school simply introduce yourself with the name you wish to be called by. If they do not accept this or your status as a Prince then let us know and we will deal with them."

Jared grinned at this, one of the most important lessons that his father had stressed early in his training had been the importance of names and how they held a power that people rarely thought about, it was why even though all of the inhabitants of the Kingdom knew their full names, they would only ever use the royal families first names and never reveal their surname to an outsider.

To have someone's full name was just too dangerous, especially for the ruling family of one of the Underground Kingdoms. Jared couldn't even remember the surname of the High Lord and yet he knew he had heard it when they did the ritual for him to become Prince Jared, even Sarah couldn't remember it from her own ritual to become sister to his aunt Queen Valentia.

Sarah entered the conversation, "Now, I am sure there are some things on your list that cannot be obtained Underground and so the day after tomorrow your father and I intend to escort you after breakfast Aboveground to the Wizarding area known as Diagon Alley in London. Do you have any further questions?"

Harry couldn't help the grin on his face, he got to go Aboveground, his brother and sisters were going to be so jealous as they were still considered too young to go Aboveground, not even to the inside of any of the banks let alone to one of the wizarding world areas. "Can I tell the others about this?"

Both Jareth and Sarah could see how much he wanted to tease his siblings with this knowledge and caused them both to roll their eyes at him, "Yes Jared you can tell them." Sarah said for them both, amusement clear in her voice.

Jared's smile got even wider, "Thank you, can I go?"

Jareth smirked at his son's enthusiasm to go and cause trouble, "Yes pest you can go, try not to cause too much trouble and try to work on some of your training today."

Jared just laughed and gave a bow of obedience to his parents before making his exit from the study. Once he was gone and Sarah had left to attend to her own duties, Jareth returned to his work, making sure to include a reply of acceptance in with the mail for the Director of the England branch to send out to Hogwarts.

xxxx

The next day at about 10 o'clock, Jared was standing in between Jareth and Sarah in the throne room, his brother and sisters watching enviously from the doorway to the room as Jareth conjured a crystal and let it drop in front of them.

The world in front of his eyes blurred for a few moments before clearing to reveal a large white walled room with a single door made of a dark wood.

"Welcome Aboveground." Jareth said with amusement lacing his tone and a wave of his hand to the sterile environment, Jared looked around at the room in disappointment.

Jareth couldn't help laughing a little at the look on Jared's face before explaining, "This is merely a room I created that would allow travel between the two realms without any of the usual bad weather effects." He turned serious now as he warned, "However before we give you your real welcome to Aboveground there are a few simple rules that we need to tell you Jared."

Jared rolled his eyes "Father" he said with a whine, "do I really need to hear this?"

Sarah gave him a sharp tap on his head, "Don't be cheeky or a spoiled brat to your father Jared, this is important."

"Yes mother," Jared answered meekly, he always gave into her so easily, looking at his father he said, "My apologies father."

Jareth gave a single nod of acceptance, not showing his own amusement at the little scene, "While you are here you will do exactly as we say with no argument, you may ask questions but only if it is clear that we are not in a compromising place, remember no one here knows that you have been living with goblins let alone that you have been doing so in the Underground Kingdom and I would prefer it if we continued that."

Jared gave a single nod of understanding, as Heir to the throne he had begun learning politics and how they related to not only his title as Prince but also certain situations two years ago as a part of his training.

Jareth continued, "No one here will know that your mother and I are the rulers of the Goblins and members of the Fae or that you are half-Fae and as a prince of the Goblins have the power of both the Fae and Goblins, as such you cannot use your magic to look after yourself, and I mean that Jared, no magic at all."

Again Jared gave a single nod of understanding and acceptance, when his father used that tone of voice he knew there was no arguing.

"Should we meet any children of your age, I have no problem of you introducing yourself and starting to make friends, or you Sarah with any fellow mothers of the children, but you are not to tell them our surname, I feel I do not need remind you the power names have."

Both Sarah and Jared nodded their agreement on that one.

"I'm sure if we all abide by these simple rules everything will be fine, so if you are ready?" With that he stepped over to the door and grasped the handle; looking at them both he received a smile from Sarah and an eager nod from Jared as he pulled the door open.

They stepped out to find two goblins in armour stationed there, both of which bowed upon seeing the King and his family appear. Jareth merely nodded his head at them acknowledging the bows, he indicated the one on the left, "Go on ahead and inform every goblin you see no one is to bow to us, we are to be treated the same as a wizarding family."

The goblin gave a brief bow of acknowledgment before hurrying off spreading the word of the order from the King. Jareth held them all back a few moments to ensure that the order would have spread enough ahead of them before leading his wife and son out.

When they reached the top steps to the bank Harry's eyes were wide and he was constantly turning his head every which way trying to see everything there was to see. Seeing his reaction caused both Jareth and Sarah to smile, taking his wife's hand Jareth couldn't help asking her, "Does his reaction remind you of someone else's?"

To her credit Sarah managed to keep her face straight as she replied, "I have no idea who you could be talking about."

Jareth just smiled at her, "Of course not. Come we should get his wand first."

With that they led Jared over to the old looking shop that held nothing but a dusty cushion in the window holding a single wand, over the door hung the sign declaring the place to be Ollivanders.

Stepping into the shop Jareth immediately turned casually to regard the silver haired man standing in a dark corner near the door, "Good day Mr Ollivander." He greeted politely, Sarah and Jared now both looking in that direction too.

Ollivander stepped forward confused for a few moments, never before had anyone seen through the concealing spell he used to observe his customers before greeting them, suddenly he saw and recognised just who his customers were and immediately bowed, "Your Majesty's it is an honour to have you in my humble shop."

Jared frowned, "Hang on Ollivander, isn't that the same name as the family living in Uncle Lugh's Kingdom."

Ollivander gave a smile and answered the young prince before him "You have a very good memory your highness, indeed I do have family residing in the Underground."

"I trust they are well?" Sarah asked politely to which Ollivander's smile now turned to one of sadness.

"Unfortunately due to the war against the one known as Voldemort and considered a Dark Lord by the Wizarding world, my means of communicating with my family was destroyed. The only way I can discover how they are would be to return Underground, but that would require leaving my shop and at this moment in time I feel that I am needed more here."

"Of course, you must do as you feel is best. Now we are here as my son Jared is Half-Human and about to begin attending one of the schools Aboveground, as such he is in need of one of your wands." Jareth said, feeling sorry for the man and already thinking that he will have to send a letter off to his brother about the situations the man was in.

"Of course, of course. If his highness would step this way." He indicated that Jared should approach the counter and he removed the tape measure from around his neck and asked, "Now your highness which is your wand arm?"

Jared shrugged, "I tend to be stronger with my right hand when training so I guess I better make it my wand arm."

"A wise decision as most wizards find using the same arm to be more comfortable, however with training you can learn to use both. Perhaps in the future when you are comfortable with your right arm and if the wand that chooses you today is not suitable you can return and we will find a wand that will be best on your left hand." He began to measure Jared's right arm before moving to scurry amongst the boxes, but unlike with most customers as soon as he left the measuring tape politely moved to coil up on the counter in front of Jared.

It took them half an hour before they found the correct wand, holly with a phoenix tail feather and the interesting history to be told to them all regarding it. When they came to pay, Jared pulled a thin sliver chain from around his neck, the Heir of House Potter ring hanging from it. He used this to pay for the wand from the trust vault set up by his birth parents, once done they stepped back out into the fresh air of Diagon Alley.

As they began making their way to the bookshop Sarah asked, "Do you intend to contact your brother and let him know that one of his subjects is no longer in contact with his family?"

Jareth nodded, "I will write to him when we return, there is a chance he may be able to do something. If not then as the man said, he still has the ability to make one final trip home should he need to."

The rest of their day was spent as what appeared to be a normal wizarding family conducting some shopping for a child about to head off to school. They skipped going to Madam Malkin's robes intending to have the necessary robes made back Underground by the family tailor, but they did stop at Magical Menagerie and Jared found himself attracted to the beautiful Snowy Owl, soon enough he had paid for her, along with all of the necessary items required for her care.

Finally with all of their purchases made and Jareth had shrunk them down to make it easier to carry, although Jared's new owl was allowed to ride on his shoulder, they decided to take a break and get some ice-cream from the popular parlour that claimed it had every flavour a witch or wizard could think off.

Upon seeing the sign Jareth had smirked and promptly asked for a flavour that had never been head of Aboveground but was quite popular Underground. This had confused the lady behind the counter and she had stuttered her apologies, when Florean Fortescue himself, the owner of the shop heard this he proceeded to give them their entire order for free.

Sarah had glared at him and given Jareth a quiet lecture on confusing the poor mortals while they ate the ice-creams, when she was finished Jareth pointed out that as the Duke of Deceit it was practically his job to do what he had done and then gave her a kiss before she could retaliate.

This of course had led to gagging noises from Jared along with the comment, "Can't you wait till we're back home and then I don't have to see any of that?" which resulted in both adults glaring at him now.

Eventually they returned to Gringotts and travelled back Underground where Jared got to show all of his cool new stuff to his siblings while having a fitting with the family tailor for his new school robes along with several formal dress robes as well.

xxxx

A/N And we are back for the next seven chapters I have to admit I'm not overly happy with this chapter as it doesn't quite flow as well as some of the others but I can't seem to make it any better and so have to declare it done.

In case anyone was wondering the whole family is now Jareth and Sarah followed by Harry/Jared as the Heir and then two sisters (Not twins) and a brother, in that order. I haven't decided on ages or names for the younger siblings or of we will even get to see them at all, I just didn't want Harry/Jared growing up as an only child running around the Labyrinth, this way he had a small army to command as he did so.

Also due to the ritual and Jareth declaring Harry/Jared as his Heir, not even the first born child of Jareth and Sarah could remove this title from Harry/Jared even though he is only Half-Fae unlike his siblings. He could only be removed from the line of succession if Jareth was to publicly dis-own Harry/Jared, which would result in Harry/Jared then having to be changed into a goblin or creature in accordance with the law due to Dudley not running the Labyrinth for him, after all Harry/Jared was blood adopted and so has Jareth's blood running through him as if he was his own father. If you were to do a blood inheritance ritual then the results would like show that Harry/Jared has a mother (Lily) and two fathers (James and Jareth) listed.

Ok this has trned into quite a long A/N so I shall leave it at that.

Keep writing and have fun

V.


	9. Chapter 9 - The Journey

Disclaimer: I can honestly say that after looking at my poor bank balance I do not own any of the characters that you see and recognise here from either Harry Potter or The Labyrinth, I am just having a little fun with them all

**Chapter Nine– The Journey**

All too soon the first of September arrived.

Unfortunately only Jareth could accompany Jared Aboveground this time, they were being visited by Sarah's blood sister, Valentia and so she was unable to leave.

They went to the train station and as soon as they reached platforms 9 and 10, they could both see the bright light being emitted by the barrier thanks to all the different spells that were on it to keep it from being noticed by the non-magical people on the platforms.

It wasn't hard for them to pass through unnoticed through the crowds; not even needing to use glamour's to cover their presence or approach to the barrier.

Stepping through and onto the platform they made their way to the train, stopping at the first empty compartment they came to which was about three down from the front. It was still early so not many others destined for the school had turned up yet.

They made sure that Jared's luggage was stored safely and that he was comfortable in the carriage, Jared's owl, now named Hedwig perched herself on top of the luggage rack and stuck her head under her wing clearly intending to ignore the growing hustle and bustle.

Jareth and Jared stood at the door to the compartment watching all the other's arriving, Jared in particular took interest in the young boy that had arrived with an older lady; he was clearly the same age as Jared but seemed very timid, almost afraid of being on the platform, and yet something about him called to Jared and made him decide to help him out.

He moved in their direction, seeing that they were starting to look down the train for a compartment, he stopped close to them and with a smile in place called to them, "Excuse me," he waited until they were both looking at him before giving a short bow of his head, "I couldn't help noticing that you look to be the same age as me so I thought you must be a first year like myself and wondered if you might like to share a compartment with me?"" he indicated back where he father stood watching him with amusement in his eyes, though his face remained neutral.

The old lady regarded him and then his father for a few moments before saying, "I think that would be a good idea, come along Neville." She began heading in the direction of his father, Jared looked at Neville and asked, "Do you want a hand?" before nodding his head at the trunk Neville was pulling.

He got a small shy smile in return, "Thank you" he quietly said so Jared moved behind and picked up the other end and between them they carted it over to the carriage getting it there in time to hear the old woman introducing herself.

"…Longbottom, regent of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Longbottom until my grandson, Neville Longbottom here comes of age."

Jareth gave a small regal nod of his head in recognition, "Greetings to you Madam Longbottom, I am King Jareth, Prince Jared is my son and Heir to the Kingdom I rule, he is here to begin his first year of schooling."

Both Madam Longbottom and Neville looked shocked at hearing this, Neville going wide eyed and looking with awe at Jared. Jared rolled his eyes, "Father," he said exasperated, "How am I ever going to make any friends if you act all snooty and formal?" The awe in Neville's eyes grew to hear Jared speak to his father, a King in that manner.

"Jared" His father said in a warning tone.

Again Jared rolled his eyes, "My apologies Sire, I, your son and loyal prince of the realm, who is only eleven and seeking nothing but friendship from another shy eleven year old in the same situation as I am, am your humble and loyal servant and sought to cause no offence to your magnificent self." He finished off giving a flourishing bow, bending in half at the waist all the while still managing to hold onto his end of Neville's trunk, his tone of voice overly sincere.

Jareth eyed him warily before shaking his head at his son and his antics, "Madam Longbottom," he said even though he never took his eyes off Jared, "I find myself in need to apologise for the cheeky brat that stands before you. I assure you he has been taught proper manners but as is the case with young children seems inclined to make it appear as though he has none." By the time he was finished both his tone and eyes were filled with amusement and a smile was tugging at the corners of his mouth.

To Neville's surprise he saw that his grandmother was also trying to suppress a smile, clearly amused herself. "Not at all sire, I completely understand." She said amusement also heard in her voice.

"Come on, Neville was it?" when he got a nod from the young boy Jared carried on, "Let's get your trunk stowed." The two boys headed into the compartment and got Neville's trunk sorted out leaving the two adults to talk.

Soon they were saying their final goodbye and the King was forced to step back and watch as the train carried his son away to a world that was filled with dangers that he was unable to protect him from. With an internal sigh of resignation he turned and went straight back to Gringotts to return Underground.

It was five minutes into the journey as they were both getting to know each other when the door to the compartment opened and they saw a young girl stood there shyly looking at them. She gave a weak smile, "Excuse me would you mind if I joined you?"

Jared stood up, closely followed by Neville, "Of course not, please come in." Jared said with a friendly smile, "Looking at you I guess this is your first year too?" he asked her.

She gave a nod as she came in and closed the door behind her and her trunk, the two boys immediately sprang to action helping her get the trunk sorted on the luggage rack and once done they all took a seat as she said, "Thank you and yes I am a first year, my name is Hermione Granger and I'm a muggle-born. We were ever so surprised when we got my letter but mum and dad are so proud." She gave them both a large smile as she said this, only to have it falter when she saw the frown on Jared's face and tentatively asked, "Erm…did I say something wrong?"

"You said you were _muggle_-born." He practically spat the word muggle out. Neville looked surprised, from what he had seen of his new friend so far he had not expected him to be a blood-purest.

"Erm…Jared," he began, "I didn't think you believed the blood-purest stuff?"

Hermione had gotten a mixed look of both hurt and outrage on her face, Jared ignored it and answered Neville, "I don't as being a half-blood myself I know that blood status doesn't mean anything. It was the word itself I object to, where I'm from the word muggle is disgusting and considered offensive. We prefer to call people magical and non-magical."

A look of understanding now filled the eyes and voices of both the children, Neville speaking first, "I guess it's something I've never thought about, it's a word that everyone in the wizarding world uses."

"Then maybe it's time an example was set of people not using it." Jared said firmly.

"If enough people stop using it and make others see how demeaning it is then it should become as bad as calling a black person some of the nasty terms that were used before they got equal rights." Hermione added.

Jared gave an eager nod, "Exactly, that's what I was hoping to do over time." The three of them shared a smile of understanding and co-operation as the other two made the decision to help him with it.

Things settled down in the compartment after that, Neville brought his pet toad out from his pocket, introducing it to his two new friends only to have Trevor suddenly jump from his hands and head for the door which was opened at that time by a pair of red headed twins. They both stepped back in surprise at the sudden load croak that greeted them giving Trevor the chance to jump past them, Neville's cry of "Trevor!" following it.

Neville stood and made to dash after his pet but stopped at the hand on his arm, looking at Jared who had now stood as well he was about to ask what he was doing when Jared held up his hand and closing his eyes muttered some words in a language he had never heard before.

To the surprise of Neville, Hermione and the twins, Trevor was flying backwards into the compartment and landed on the seat next to where Neville had been sitting. When the toad made to jump off again, Neville quickly grabbed it and held it there before he looked at Jared with awe, "Thank you, I don't know what you did but thank you."

"Wow," Hermione gushed, "That was amazing Jared."

The two twins came in and closed the door behind them, "Never seen a firstie do that." One began and the other finished, "Very impressive I think we will have to keep an eye on this one."

They both stuck their hands out at Jared, "I'm George Weasley and this is…"

"Fred Weasley, also known as Gred and …"

"Forge." They bounced back and forth to the amusement of the three young eleven year olds.

"Prince Jared, this is Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom." Jared introduced them all with a nod of his head to the other two as they said their names.

Fed and George shared a look before with identical smiles gave flourishing bows that went deep to the floor, "Your highness. It is indeed a great pleasure and honour, and greetings to his most worthy friends the Lord Neville and Lady Hermione."

The three of them all laughed at their antics, Jared returned their bow with one as equally ridiculous, "Master's Gred and Forge it is indeed a great honour."

When he straightened, they all shared smiles, "Well as fun as this was…" George began.

"We were looking for a friend of ours so if you will excuse us." Fred finished before they hurried out, making sure not to give Trevor a chance to escape again.

Once they had left, Jared and Hermione helped Neville make a little nest out of their coats for Trevor before setting back down, talking with amusement about the two twins, Neville telling them that he had heard tales of them from his grandmother when some of their pranks were mentioned during school board meetings.

With that talk soon turned to school and this led to them discussing the four houses. Jared couldn't help playing devil's advocate when the other two mentioned their preference for Gryffindor and talked about how Slytherin was just as good.

When Hermione mentioned that she had read about the dreadful reputation it had Jared went on to explain how the virtues of cunning and ambition were not bad things and it was only the actions of a few that had soured the reputation, again pointing out that the views of a few were not always representative of the views of the majority.

A couple of hours had passed when the door to the compartment opened to reveal a young blonde boy, flanked by two bigger but still young boys.

He gave his best superior look at the occupants of the compartment before saying, "I've heard there is a Prince in this compartment, I'm Draco Malfoy Heir to the House of Malfoy." Again he looked at the occupants, clearly dismissing Hermione as she was a girl and then with contempt dismissing Neville because he didn't seem to have what he considered a princely air to him, his eyes finally settled on Jared and haughty asked, "So it's you is it?"

Jared regarded the young boy in front of him, what Draco didn't know was that he had faced several people who acted just like this across the all of the different courts of the Underground Kingdoms and therefore had quite a lot of practice at speaking to them.

He turned to Neville and said, "Tell me Neville as the Heir to one of the Noble and Most Ancient Houses of the wizarding world, is it considered good manners to barge into a room, or in this case a train compartment and act in such an insulting and haughty manner?"

Neville was looking uncertain and shy again as he quietly replied, "No, we get taught that we should give a polite greeting introducing ourselves and then find a quiet place to sit until we get spoken to, well that's what we are supposed to do if we enter a room with adults in it anyway."

Draco sneered at him, "We of the Malfoy House are taught not to be such simpering weaklings."

Jared raised an eyebrow at him before saying in a bland tone, "There is a difference between showing strength and showing insult. Right now you are showing nothing but insult to us and we are from houses that are both Nobel and Most Ancient which are of a higher statues than yours which is still just a House, the head of your family cannot even claim the title Lord for at least another three generations, unlike Neville and myself who will become such when we reach the age of majority, as such I think you should leave until you remember your manners and the proper way to behave."

Draco now sneered at him, "And do you think you can make me leave?"

Jared stood and took a step towards him, "I have had extensive training in how to protect myself from several weapons and hand-to-hand combat masters, so in answer to your question yes I do think I can, the question remains do you want to turn up to the opening feast of your first year of school with bruises?"

He held Draco's gaze with a firm and confident one of his own, the blonde boy eventually looking away and with a snarled order at his two companions left the compartment.

Once they had left the rest of the journey was pretty boring, soon the train began to slow and an announcement was made that they would reach their destination in the next fifteen minutes so the trio quickly changed into their school robes, Jared and Neville politely leaving the compartment for a few minutes so Hermione would have some privacy while she changed.

It was in the corridor that they met a young red headed boy, clearly a relation to the twins, he introduced himself as Ron and then before giving them a chance to introduce themselves he promptly asked if they had seen Harry Potter as he was to be his best friend but couldn't find him and he had been to every compartment looking for him, he hadn't even had a chance to sit down for any of the train journey which was unfair as he was really tired and hungry now.

Jared had frowned at the young boy; he didn't like the way he seemed to claim friendship with him before even meeting him and the way he whined at having had to do a little leg work was rather irritating. He stayed silent as Neville, finally having a chance to speak as Ron's whining seemed to begin winding down politely said that he was Neville Longbottom and his friend was Prince Jared and that they were sharing a compartment with a girl called Hermione Granger, as such Harry Potter was not with them. Jared didn't feel like correcting Neville, especially at the sudden gleam in Ron's eye at hearing that Jared was a Prince.

Behind them they heard the door slide open again and Hermione's quite voice saying that she was finished changing, this gave them the opportunity to quickly make excuses and leave the red head alone in the corridor. The saw him walk away heading for the next compartment only to suddenly run back past and further down the train as the driver gave his final announcement that they would be arriving in the next five minutes, clearly Ron hadn't realised they were so close and was rushing to get his school robes from wherever he had left his trunk.

With a final whistle from the engine the train pulled into Hogsmeade station and the students began to disembark.

xxxx

A/N And so we arrive at Hogwarts…whew feels like it has taken forever to get to this point but now the fun really begins.

Thank you all for the lovely response that I have once again been getting for this set of updates, especially Missgsmith51 who was the first to raise an interesting question about something that was mentioned but no one else seemed to pick up on so well done :)

I have also been asked if there will be a pairing at any point, I have to admit I am really bad at writing couples and as of this moment there is no intention to have a pairing for Harry/Jared, he is only eleven after all but I won't say there will never be one, I have learned from things happening in my real life to never say never.

Keep writing and have fun

V.


	10. Chapter 10 - Arrival at Hogwarts

Disclaimer: I can honestly say that after looking at my poor bank balance I do not own any of the characters that you see and recognise here from either Harry Potter or The Labyrinth, I am just having a little fun with them all

**Chapter Ten – Arrival at Hogwarts**

When the train stopped the three friends stepped down onto the platform, all three of them couldn't help but notice the lamp being waved around the very large man and Jared immediately thought that there had to be giant ancestry in his blood to be that big.

The large man's voice boomed above the noise being created by all the other students, "Firs'-years! Firs'-years over here!"

Unlike the other first years that slipped and stumbled after the large man, Jared walked gracefully across the dark and rain-slicked ground thanks to his Fae blood, although seeing Hermione start to slip he quickly grabbed her elbow earning him a smile of thanks before offering her his arm as the gentleman he was raised to be and helping her the rest of the way.

At the bottom of the steep narrow path that they followed the large man called over his shoulder, "Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o'Hogwarts in a sec." And as they turned a corner there it sat.

At the top of a high mountain on the other side of the vast black lake before them, where a group of small boats bobbed, many windows glinted with light like starts in a clear sky, the many turrets and towers visible as only dark outlines in the night.

The group of first years began to ohhh and ahhh at the sight of it while Jared merely raised an eyebrow. He could understand how the young mortal children were impressed, but really not only did he live in a castle himself but had seen the castles of all the other rulers of the Underground not to mention a pure Elvish castle whenever he visited the High Lord in the Kingdom of Dragons, and compared to the High Lord's castle well this was cheap and tacky.

"No more'n four to a boat!" The loud voice boomed after sufficient time to admire the view had passed. Jared took a seat in one of them along with Hermione and Neville; they were soon joined by a young boy who introduced himself as Dean Thomas. As they made the way across the lake, Jared leaned over the side slightly and began trailing his fingers in the water to see if he could sense any interesting life living under its deceptively calm surface.

To his delight he was able to sense an entire colony of mer-people down there. He made a mental note to find a way to get in touch and open at the very least communications, at best he could even find one or two friends down there.

Soon they were passing under the cliff and into a well-lit but damp cave, climbing out the large man checked that they were all there before knocking three times on the large doors.

The doors swung open to reveal a stern witch in emerald-green robes. The large man formally handed the first years over to her, revealing his name as Hagrid in the process and the witches name to be Professor McGonagall, who proceeded to lead them into a small chamber where they were instructed to smarten themselves up before disappearing to see if everything was ready for their arrival.

Unlike the other first years Jared didn't bother to smooth his clothing or hair, he knew he looked fine. As the others fussed over their appearance, Jared saw the red headed boy, Ron and Draco Malfoy have an argument, it appeared there was a long standing feud between the two families if their words were anything to go by.

Before it could become anything more than a verbal disagreement, Professor McGonagall returned, "We're ready for you now. Follow me."

She then proceeded to lead the group into the Great Hall.

As soon as Jared stepped inside he experienced a severe case of dizziness as thanks to his Fae magic, he saw not only the enchanted ceiling but the real ceiling at the same time after a few moments he managed to supress his Fae magic so that he saw just the enchanted ceiling and not both. Just ahead of him he could hear Hermione mentioning that she had read about the enchantment in a book before coming, he smirked thinking that she would most likely end up in Ravenclaw if she was that studious.

They arrived at the front of the hall where they could all see the stool with the tatty looking hat sitting on it, a faint glow surrounding it told Jared that the magic on it was old and so he wasn't too surprised when it began to sing its song.

Soon it was finished and the sorting began. He was surprised to hear Hermione be placed in Gryffindor and not Ravenclaw as he had expected, and not at all surprised when the arrogant Malfoy heir got his wish and was placed in Slytherin. He was pleased to see Neville go to Gryffindor as his new friend had mentioned on the train that he had been worried he wouldn't be sorted there and wanted it in a way to honour his parents.

Finally they came to the letter P.

"Potter, Harry!" McGonagall called out, as soon as she did whispers broke out at the sound of the name; Jared stood there and frowned slightly but remained silent.

McGonagall frowned and repeated her call, sounding impatient as she did so, "Potter, Harry!"

Again Jared refused to answer to the name that he had stopped using six years ago. His father may have told him how much emphasis the people of the wizarding world had placed on his middle name, but he made his choice, he would not dance to their tune but his own and as far as he was concerned his name was Jared and that is what he would answer to.

Finally the adults seemed to realise that no one was going to answer, it was then that the old man at the centre of the head table stood and silence fell all around. A few moments of searching the faces of the small group of first years resulted in his eyes landing on Jared and didn't leave him.

With a grandfatherly twinkle in his eyes and a benign smile on his face Dumbledore said, "Mr Potter will you please step forward and be sorted."

Jared stared back at the old man, easily deflecting the gentle attempts to enter his mind, keeping his expression neutral he said clear enough for everyone to hear, "My name is not Harry Potter, it is Prince Jared and I will only answer to that."

Naturally this sparked the whispers to begin again but stopped when Dumbledore, the twinkle in his eyes fading slightly but not disappearing, waved a hand for silence, in a voice that made it clear to the adults at least that he was humouring the child he said, "Very well, Jared Potter will you please step forward and be sorted."

Jared stayed in place and crossed his arms over his chest, a scowl now appearing as he retorted, "I did not say my surname was Potter, as such I will not answer to that. I am to be known as Prince Jared and will be addressed as either Prince Jared or your highness in a first instance followed by sir thereafter as my status dictates, unless I give permission to be addressed in any other way. If the members of staff and students of this school cannot understand this then I will leave. I have no wish to attend a school that is filled with imbeciles"

The smile completely disappeared from Dumbledore's face at that and silence ruled the hall for a few moments. Then to the shock of everyone there Dumbledore, not wanting to lose his chance to bring the child back under his control, conceded to the eleven year old and said, "Very well Prince Jared please step forward and be sorted."

With a bland look in place as though he was bored by all of this, Jared inclined his head and made his way to the stool, where McGonagall, a disapproving look on her own face, placed the sorting hat on his head.

Everything went black and there was silence for a brief moment and then Jared heard a voice next to his ear, _"my my, your highness such strong shields for one so young, I must ask that you lower them so I may conduct your sorting."_

His face hidden by the hat, Jared raised an eyebrow at the voice before replying with his mind, _"Before I do so I must have your word of honour and on the magic holding you together that you will tell no one, be they living or dead what you see."_

The voice replied in a tone that was both amused and sincere, _"I would never do so anyway sir, the magic that was used to create me would not allow it, however I also give you my word that I will keep all I see to myself."_

Jareth gave a smirk of satisfaction before lowering his outer defences.

As soon as the sorting hat saw into his mind the first thing it said was, "_Oh my, this is an honour indeed. Never before have I sat on the head of an individual with so much Fae blood running through their veins. I see this is where your title comes from as well."_

"_Does my blood affect what house I am placed into"_ Jared asked the hat curiously with his thoughts.

_"Hmmm no not really your Highness. Now I see plenty of cunning here, no doubt your fathers influence, although I seem to recall there being a great deal of cunning in the mind of James Potter as well. And there is certainly a thirst for knowledge, from your mother Lily perhaps; I was tempted to place her in Ravenclaw, although I see from your memories that your stepmother is quite intelligent too."_

Jared just gave a mental sigh at the Hat's rambling.

_"Plenty of courage too I see, a result of being raised in the Labyrinth no doubt, so far all qualities necessary for an heir to a Kingdom, especially one such as the Goblin Kingdom."_

"_Tell me" _Jared asked the Hat in a mental voice filled with sarcasm, _"is there any chance of you making a decision tonight or would you like a few days to decide? "_

"_No patience I see more evidence of the influence from your father" _came the hat's tart reply.

Jared was beginning to get annoyed and so snapped at it "_Insult my lord and father again you tatty piece of cloth and I will show you what even a half-blood member of the Fae is capable of!"_

The voice of the Hat immediately changed to one of apology "_My apologies your Highness I meant no insult. However your loyalty to your father, family and the Underground are clearly dominant in you and so I see it would seem that I shall have to sort you into _HUFFLEPUFF."

This last was shouted to the now restless occupants of the Great Hall due to how long the sorting was taking, never before had anyone seen a sorting take so long, including Dumbledore who had begun to get worried.

As soon as the verdict was made the Hufflepuff table erupted into shouts and screams at getting the legendary Boy-Who-Lived in their house. Up at the staff table Dumbledore made sure to hide his own annoyance with a benign smile, he had given the hat strict orders to place the boy in Gryffindor, he was going to have to have a talk with it to see why he, the headmaster had been defied as well as learn what it had seen in the boy's head.

Soon all of the other first years had been sorted, and the headmaster stood to make his customary opening speech, beaming at them all, as though he was delighted to see each and every one of them there he spread his arms wide and said, "Welcome! Welcome to the beginning of a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"

He sat back down and everyone but Jared clapped and cheered their eccentric headmaster. Jared just gave a slight frown at it all; he could see that the man was not eccentric, merely playing one so as to set all the new students at ease, to give them the pre-conceived notion that he was just an old man losing his marbles slightly.

He knew the gentle attempts to penetrate his mind earlier had come from the headmaster, not that he was in a position at the moment to say anything about it, but if his lessons from his father hadn't already warned him the actions tonight were enough to tell Jared that he was not a man to be trusted or fooled with easily.

This was reinforced by the fact that around him some of the older students were now making comments about how mad he was and yet still the best wizard in the world, the greatest sorcerer alive. Jared had to suppress the snort of laughter and disdain at that, no one in the wizarding world had seen a true sorcerer since the days of Merlin and Morgana, in fact the last person to show a glimmer of potential to be a true sorcerer was Mordred and that was only because he was Morgana's son.

Food had appeared on the platters in front of them and so Jared began helping himself, it was around mouthfuls of food all the first years began introducing themselves to each other, of course they all showed interest in Jared, as did the older students but they were a bit more subtle about it.

By the time the food for the main course had disappeared Jared knew the names of all the other first year Hufflepuffs as well as several of the older years. It was while eating his dessert Jared finally found a chance to cast his eye over the head table.

He was surprised to find that a teacher sat there with a thick layer of evil about his entire being, he couldn't believe he had missed it when he had first entered the hall, it was so clear to him now that he was looking up at the teachers. He couldn't completely identify what it was that caused it; he only knew it was there and made the decision he would need to inform his father about it.

He debated on trying to try and use his senses to see if he could identify what it was, but decided against it considering how public a setting this was. It was at that moment that his scar flared briefly with a stab of pain. He gave a small wince, more out of surprise then pain, it was also at that moment that he noticed that the man next to the one layered in evil, was glaring at him, a look of hate burning in his eyes.

Jared frowned not understanding how a man he had never met could look at him with such hate. He shook his head and turned away from the burning black eyes that spelled misery for his future.

With all of the food gone Dumbledore stood and gave out the start of term notices, as soon as the notice about the third floor was made whispers began circulating immediately.

Jared once again had to supress his emotions from showing, this time ones of disdain and contempt, after all why mention such a painful punishment if you want no one near there, doing so would only encourage the more curious and adventurous students to go looking, whilst the threat of something more mundane like a year of detentions would have worked much better.

But with the way the old man flicked his eyes at him as he told them this, he could tell he meant for Jared to go there anyway. He gave an internal snort of laughter as he thought _the old man is going to be disappointed if he thinks I'm going near it._

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" Dumbledore cried, Jared noticed that the other teacher's smiles had become rather fixed.

Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick as if he was trying to get a fly off the end and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which lifted high above the tables and twisted itself snake-like into words, "Everyone pick their favourite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!"

The hall erupted in a blast of mixed tunes and off-key students as they attempted what could be a tune of some sort. Jared gave a sigh and while he took after his father in singing couldn't bear the thought of forcing a tune to commit suicide with the words hanging in the air and so decided to simply read them out as a poem in a quiet voice that easily got drowned out by everyone else.

He was amused to see that the red headed twins from the train drew the experience out with their funeral dirge. Soon though it was done and Dumbledore sent them all off to bed.

xxxx

A/N and there we are Harry/Jared is now sorted and in Hufflpuff I hope you all agree with his sorting, I just didn't think someone that had been raised to always think situations through so as to be sure that they place the Kingdom before their own desires would end up in Gryffindor where the students are known for always rushing in without thinking. I did nearly put him in Slytherin because of the same thought but then realised that it wasn't due to cunning that Harry/Jared thought that way but loyalty to his father, the man that took him away from his horrible relatives and adopted him and a kingdom that accepted him as he was, so Hufflepuff seemed to fit more.

Keep writing and have fun

V.


	11. Chapter 11 - First or Last day?

Disclaimer: I can honestly say that after looking at my poor bank balance I do not own any of the characters that you see and recognise here from either Harry Potter or The Labyrinth, I am just having a little fun with them all

**Chapter Eleven – First or last day?**

The hustle and bustle then was tremendous as everyone tried to leave the Great Hall at the same time, the prefects of each house gathering the first years together.

They made their way through the corridors, Jared only half listening to the warnings being given about moving staircases and that any passing ghost or portrait would help if they got lost, instead he was too busy wondering when he would be able to escape the castle and explore the lake or even the forest.

Before he realised it they had arrived at the section of the castle where the Hufflepuff dorms resided, close to the dungeons and thus the Slytherin dorms but not as far down into them.

The prefect stood before a wide wall that had a large wooden door that fit perfectly into the wall. It bore no design but its own grain, and there was no door handle only a door knocker in the shape of a sleeping badger. "Minoris aestimo" The badger suddenly stretched and stood, his head turning to look at the students stood there before the door swung open without a sound "That is the password do not forget it or you will be stuck until someone helps you." the prefect informed them, he then stepped inside and they all followed him.

Inside they found themselves standing in a large room, decorated with thick tapestries that helped keep the chill back and hold in the warmth being generated by the merrily burning fire in the large fire place that took up most of one wall, the crest for Hufflepuff house above it. Comfortable chairs with tables for studying were well spaced around the edges, with more comfortable chairs and sofas closer to the fire for socialising.

The primary colours of décor were a mixture of yellow and black, but there was an undercurrent of warmer oranges, browns and reds with tints of gold helped to mute them so that they were not hard on the student's eyes.

"The male dorms are through the doorway on the right and then the last door on the left for the first years, girls the left door and then again the last door of that corridor, I will warn you now to avoid any embarrassment there are methods in place to ensure that only male or female students can go down the correct corridors. Get some sleep you'll need it tomorrow." He finished with a welcome smile.

The prefect turned to leave but stopped and looked back at them his smile dimmed as he warned them, "Oh and one last thing, the Slytherin dorms are further into the dungeons but they are still closer to us than the others so be careful, they like to pick on us more than the other house's because we are believed to be the weaker house." With that final warning he left them to find their dorms on their own.

Upon entering their dorm room, the boys each found a four poster bed, yellow hangings with black hems framed each one and black bed sheets with yellow hems made them soft and welcoming to young men that had had an exhausting trip followed by a large meal to make them sleepy. At the base of each rested their trunks.

Ten minutes later Jared had changed and slid into his own bed when he became aware of someone watching him from somewhere. He took a deep breath and stretched out his senses, it was less than 10 seconds later that he felt something brush against them softly, a loving gesture.

He smiled, he knew that touch, had felt it many times when he or his father had stayed with one of the other rulers at their castles. Jared concentrated and sent back the same brush of the senses, hoping that his father felt it. Underground he knew he would have, but being Aboveground he wasn't so sure he was strong enough to be felt like that just yet.

A few minutes later and the feeling left him and he fell to sleep, there to dream of his family, both mortal and Fae.

He stood wrapped in the arms of his birth mother and Jareth, both giving him a tight embrace that showed how much they loved him, beside them stood James Potter and Sarah, James gave him a smile that showed Jared how proud he was of him as well as his love too, Sarah the same. Around them he could hear the laughter of his brother and sisters. He felt the gentle brush of his cheek by of all his friends Underground, including the High Lord.

And then it all changed, they melted away to leave him standing there on his own in the darkness, a terrible high pitched laughter arose around him, it was filled with cruelty and he saw a blinding flash of sickly green light.

It faded from his sight to reveal a red stone, a strange light glowing at its core and intricate strands of what looked to be white light surrounded it but Jared could see a pale grey tint to it. The strands of power grew until they were all he could see, then with a sound of breaking glass it disappeared, and yet he could smell something, something burning.

He awoke and looked at the watch he had placed on his bedside table to see it was six o'clock. Knowing he wasn't going to get back to sleep he decided to get up, slipping from his bed he found his dorm-mates to still be sleeping, grabbing some clothes he headed into the bathroom to take a long shower and think about his dream.

The part with his family was new but he guessed that was due to it being is first night Aboveground and he had fallen asleep thinking about them. The section with the cruel laugh and the green light was something he had dreamed several times and had spoken with his father about.

After the third time of having that dream so many years ago Jareth had gone to the ruler of the Underground Kingdom of Dreams and spoken to him about it, together they had determined that it was Jared's buried memory of the night his parents died, concerned for his son Jareth had then sent Jared to stay in the Kingdom of Dreams for a short time where he had then had lessons on how to handle such things so that they did not cause him any trouble psychologically. It had been at least three years since he had had that particular dream but again he attributed it to being and staying Aboveground for the first time.

The section of dream about the red stone however was also new and left him quite worried, he was sure that he had never come across such an artefact before Underground so it couldn't have been a memory, also after his time in the Dream Kingdom he had learned about the different types of dreams and from that he thought his sounded a lot like some of the prophetic dreams he had read about. Perhaps a letter to his old Dream teacher might be a good idea, with that decided he got out of the shower, dried off and headed out of the bathroom to get dressed.

When he emerged he found his new friends just waking. "You're up early." The boy called Justin sleepily said when he saw Jared already getting dressed.

Shrugging he replied, "I'm just used to getting up early I guess. Do you want me to wait for you guys?" he asked, if they were to be his companions for next seven years he supposed he should try to make friends with them.

Justin and a couple of the other boys smiled, "If you want, at least we wouldn't all be getting lost on our own and risk running into any Slytherin's."

Jared frowned slightly not liking the attitude they all seemed to have towards the Slytherin's and that he would get lost but decided to hold his tongue, after all they can't help being brought up in a world where such a heavy prejudice had been laid down by previous generations as well as the fact that they were not to know he grew up in a Labyrinth a thousand times harder to navigate then this castle. Instead he grabbed some parchment, a quill and some ink and using one of his textbooks to lean on, quickly wrote his letter describing his dream while the other boys got ready.

Half an hour later and they were finally making their way to the Great Hall for breakfast. They had just reached the doors to it when they were scattered from being pushed apart from behind by the two hulks of Crabbe and Goyle, followed by Malfoy a sneer of superiority on his face.

"Pathetic badgers, you need to lean your place." He said as he passed them.

Jared narrowed his eyes at the eleven year old as he snapped at the back of the blonde, "I am a Prince and Heir to a throne and the Heir to a Noble and Most Ancient House, you are nothing more than an Heir to a Magical House, my place is so far above yours you would get a sore neck craning to look at me."

Malfoy stopped and turned to look at him, sneer in place, "If you think I will listen to your lies and delusions Potter then your obviously stupid as well."

Jared pulled himself up straight, ignoring the fact that both the Headmaster and the wizard that had sat glaring with hatred at Jared the previous night were heading in their direction. In a voice that was clear and heard by all of the few early bird students in the hall said, "You have insulted me, my honour and the house of Hufflepuff as such I, Prince Jared do challenge you to a duel."

Malfoy stood there wide eyed in shock at him but before he could sneer a reply the professor arrived and snapped, "10 points from Hufflepuff"

Jared raised an eyebrow at him, "I do not know you sir or what authority you have to take points from, nor do I see any valid reason as to why these points have been taken from my house when it was a member of the Slytherin house that has provoked this situation, a member of the house that has yet to confirm if he accepts my challenge or will apologise for his insults."

Snape ignored what he said and sneered "Another 10 points for cheek to a professor." At this point Dumbledore got to them but before either Slytherin or the headmaster could say anything Jared addressed him.

"Headmaster, my fellow Hufflepuff students and I have been insulted by a member of Slytherin house; he then proceeded to insult me directly. All of these actions are more than enough as a legitimate reason for me to issue a formal duel, which I have done. At that point this man," He indicated to Snape, "who has not identified himself or what his authority is here, then docked points for no valid reason from Hufflepuff house, when I enquired as to his reason for doing so he took more points claiming I was being cheeky.

Tell me Headmaster what type of school are you running here that students feel they can insult others with no consequences and strange men can approach the students and speak to them as though they are nothing but dirt?"

He didn't give the old man a chance to reply, something he knew that he would not like if he did considering the grandfatherly look Dumbledore had on his face and the twinkle in his eyes, that again suggested he was going to do nothing more than humour him,

"If this is how you run your school then I am surprised it is still open as the school board must have been receiving numerous complaints from the parents and students as is their right should they feel that those in authority within the school itself will ignore them, enough to make them either suspend or close the school,"

He saw quite a few students become rather thoughtful looking at his words out of the corner of his eye but ignored it. He stood staring at Dumbledore waiting for his answers and as he suspected he didn't like what he heard.

"This man is one of your professors Harry, he is Professor Snape and I am sure he took the points in response to you issuing a duel as such a thing is not permitted at school."

Jared glared at the headmaster, "I told you last night my name is not Harry; I am to be addressed as Prince Jared unless I give permission otherwise. I will only accept the points taken from Hufflepuff if the same amount, 20 points, are taken from Slytherin for Mr Malfoy's insults and attitude towards his fellow students as well as an apology from Mr Malfoy."

Snape sneered, "Arrogant brat you will show respect to the Headmaster."

Jared turned and faced him, "On what grounds has he earned my respect? Has he called me by my title and name? Has he punished the student that gave insult to my house and companions as well as me that if left unchecked are clear signs of a bully developing? Has he reprimanded a member of his own staff for acting again in the manner of a bully to a student?"

Snape was about to say something when the Headmaster beat him to it, "Come now Harry…" but got no further.

Jared narrowed his eyes and snapped, "As you are incapable of even remembering my name or title you are clearly unfit to be a headmaster, as such I will not remain in this school any longer then it takes me to gather my belongs. Good day." With that he turned and walked out of the hall.

He heard the sneered snap of Snape "Potter you will stay where you are" at the same time as the headmaster called out, "Mr Potter you will stay here." But he ignored them both as he continued heading to Hufflepuff house.

He reached his dorm room with no problem, but before he began to pack his belongings he stopped next to his bed and closed his eyes in concentration. Taking a deep breath he gave a flick of his fingers and a crystal sphere appeared. He opened his eyes and grinned, being only half-Fae he sometimes had problems conjuring the perfect crystals needed for travel or communication.

He held the crystal in his hand and brought it to his lips, "I wish to speak to the King of the Goblins" the words had barely left his lips when the image of his father appeared in it.

Jareth frowned at his son, "Jared I told you to use a crystal only if there was an emergency. Has something happened?"

Jared gave him a brief smile, "I was insulted by another student and challenged him to formal duel, instead of allowing it to occur, the Headmaster and another professor either treated me like dirt or insisted on calling me Harry and Potter. As such I have advised them that as the Headmaster is clearly incapable of even remembering my name I do not find this to be a suitable school for me and so intend to leave."

Jareth's frowned had deepened, "What name did you tell them you wanted to be addressed as?"

Jared gave a shrug, "By my name and title, I told them I wanted to be known as Prince Jared unless I gave permissions otherwise."

"And still the Headmaster insisted on calling you Harry Potter and did nothing about the insults you had received?" Jareth asked him wanting to have a clear idea of what had angered his son.

"Yes father."

Jareth gave a single nod, "A headmaster that cannot accept a student changing his name or that student's status is indeed poor judgement, but to allow a student and then a member of staff to insult another student is intolerable. Pack your things I will arrive there shortly."

The image in Jared's crystal disappeared, with a flick of his hand so too did the crystal and Jared began packing his things back into his trunk. As he was doing this Professor Sprout came into the dorm, he saw her out if the corner of his eye but carried on with what he was doing while she watched him for a moment or two.

Finally she spoke, "Good morning, I am Professor Sprout, the head of Hufflepuff house and the Herbology Professor. I see that you truly intend to leave us then Prince Jared?"

He paused in what he was doing and faced her giving a short bow as he did. "Good morning Professor, it is with some regret that I must inform you that my father will be arriving soon and I will be leaving with him."

Sprout moved further into the room and sat herself down on one of the beds, raising an eyebrow at him, "With regret your highness? After hearing your words in the Great Hall, and apart from the challenge to a duel I would like to add I agree with what you said, you do not seem to have any regret about leaving."

Jared regarded her, "Honestly Professor a part of me did not want to come; I was happy with my family and did not want to leave them, especially to a world that is filled with such bigotry as the wizarding world." He perched himself on the side of his own bed as he spoke, facing her. "But at the same time I am half-Human and I cannot deny that half of myself, I know I need to learn how to control and use my human magic, also…" he went quiet and looked at his hands in his lap.

"Also…?" Sprout prompted him.

He took a deep breath and looked up at her, an honest but slightly sad look in his eyes, "I know that my birth parents attend this school when they were young and I was looking forward to trying to see if I could find out more about them as well as honour their memory by attending here as well."

She nodded her head a few times at that, standing she moved over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, "I can understand those feelings, but you must do what you feel to be right. I know from seeing your actions this morning that I will be losing what I am sure would be an excellent member of Hufflepuff house. I must be honest with you your highness, the Headmaster ordered me to come up here and make you change your mind to stay, even now he is in the common room waiting for me to go tell him that you will do as he wants."

Jared frowned at her but before he could say anything she carried on, "But, in light if what you said this morning I see that we would be wrong to force you to stay in a place where you will be insulted and treated in the manner that you have been. I also intend to forward my own complaints to the school board, you are right too long have students and even some teachers have been allowed to get away with things they should not."

Jared have her a smile, "Professor, you begin to restore my hope that this may be a good school to go to after all."

She returned his smile with one of her own, "I hope you do not allow the acts of a few to mar the image and reputations of the majority here at Hogwarts?"

Jared shook his head, "My father taught me to always keep an open mind."

She gave him a single nod of the head before walking back to the door, "Then if you will excuse me Prince Jared I need to go have a few words with our Headmaster."

She left and he continued packing the last of his belongs. Once they were all in his trunk, he waved his hand over it and with Fae magic shrank it small enough to fit in his pocket.

When he reached the common room he found the Headmaster stood there waiting for him, Professor Sprout was off to the one side looking very unhappy, behind the Headmaster stood Professor's McGonagall and Snape.

He gave barely a nod in the Headmasters direction before heading for the door to the castle. "Mr Potter I must ask that you stop immediately."

Jared ignored him and continued towards the door, he heard a sigh from the Headmaster before this time saying, "Prince Jared you will stop immediately and return your belongings to your dorm room."

Jared stopped and without looking at him said in a firm voice, "You have insulted me, your member of staff has insulted me and another student has insulted me," He cocked his head to the side clearly looking at the Headmaster out of the corner of his eye, "So why would I listen to you?"

Before the Headmaster could respond Snape sneered, "He is your Headmaster and you will do as he tells you arrogant child."

Jared sneered back in an equally disdainful and insulting tone, "I did not speak to you, you have no place here so be silent."

Snape stepped forward looking furious, but Dumbledore raised a hand that stopped him, "Prince Jared, Professor Snape is a head of house and has my complete trust."

This time the sneering response still dripping disdain was directed at the Headmaster, "I am not a member of Slytherin house, if such a matter as to a student leaving was to be a cause for the head of houses to be present then where is the head of Ravenclaw? As they are not present I can only assume you are trying to use force by having only members of staff that will help you fight and belittle a student, yet another reason to add to my list to leave this place."

It was Professor McGonagall that beat Dumbledore or Snape to replying this time asking in a calm and measured voice, despite the anger and disapproval at his behaviour that was clear in her eyes and rigid posture, "May I ask how you intend to leave Prince Jared?"

Jared forced his tone to one of civility as he addressed her, "My father, the King is on his way here now to collect me."

Dumbledore paled when he heard this, Snape however sneered, "Your father is dead, and he was as arrogant as you; he paid for it with his life ten years ago."

Sprout stood at this, radiating the fury and outrage that showed on her face, "Severus Snape if you wish for me to continue harvesting plants for you to use in potions, as well as wish to continue to have the ability to even brew potions you will remove yourself from my house this instant."

Snape looked at her and sneered but it was Dumbledore that responded, "Now Pomona I don't think arguing between ourselves will help the situation."

Sprout looked at the headmaster in a way she had never thought she would, with a look of pure disdain, contempt and anger, "You defend what he has just said to an eleven year old child! Then you as much as said those words yourself Albus and if you allow him to speak like that to one student that I think it's time I started to review the complaints I have been hearing from my badgers with a new perspective; that regardless of all your platitudes they are in fact telling the truth and this…_man_" she sneered the word indicating Snape, "is not only not fit to teach but not even fit to be near children."

McGonagall herself was now directing her rage at the two men, "I agree Albus what Severus has just said should never even be said in the presence of adults let alone to the very child whose parent he was referring to. He has gone too far and it is time something was done."

Jared had had enough and left them to it, walking out of Hufflepuff house and began to make his way to the main entrance, he ignored the stares and whispers he got from the students he passed on the way. He had just reached the entrance hall when he heard footsteps behind him hurrying to catch up.

"Prince Jared, your highness, I ask that you wait a moment?" he heard Professor Sprout call from behind him and, as he had no quarrel with her, in fact after the short meeting they had in the dorm room he had quite liked the woman that should be his head of house, Jared stopped and faced her to see Professor McGonagall walking beside her in haste.

He waited for them to catch up, "Your highness," Professor McGonagall said with a slight bow of her head, "before you leave with your father I would ask that both you and he join me and Professor Sprout in my office to discuss the matter of you leaving."

Before Jared could answer her another much smoother voice spoke up from the open door, "As you have asked so nicely dear lady, I see no reason why we should refuse." Jareth stepped into the main entrance and Jared couldn't help the large grin at the sight of him.

xxxx

A/N oh god my head is killing me…. the second bottle of wine last night was not a good idea :( and my daft cats making me get up at an unholy hour all I can say is thank goodness it was only cats and not kids as they are louder! Lol

Ah well next chapter is up and the fun has really kicked off now, the sorting was just the warm up hehe .

If anyone wants to know the password was literally me with my Latin to English dictionary and means Underestimate.

Keep writing and have fun…just not as much as I had last night think I will go curl up and die now!

V.


	12. Chapter 12 - Decisions made

Disclaimer: I can honestly say that after looking at my poor bank balance I do not own any of the characters that you see and recognise here from either Harry Potter or The Labyrinth, I am just having a little fun with them all

**Chapter Twelve – Decisions made**

"Father" Jared said happily wanting to rush to him and give him a hug, but at the same time knowing that in the current situation he couldn't and so had to settle for a respectful bow bending a little at the waist.

Jareth returned his smile and gave a slight bow of his head in return, "Hello Jared, I trust you are well?"

"Of course sire." He gave a glance at the two women, "Are you sure you're ok with this meeting?"

Jareth raised an eyebrow at him, "you need training little one."

Jared ducked his head at the look and hearing his old nickname, "I know sire." After a moment he pulled himself up straight and half turned towards to the two professors, "My Lord may I introduce Deputy Headmistress McGonagall and Professor Sprout, the head of my house Hufflepuff. Ladies may I introduce my lord and father King Jareth."

McGonagall and Sprout both bobbed short curtseys respectively to Jareth, "Welcome to Hogwarts Sire," McGonagall said swallowing her sudden nerves and kept a look of calm professionalism on her face, "If you and your son would please follow me I will take us all to my office where we can talk."

"Then please lead on." Jareth replied, at the same time he stepped up next to Jared and placed a hand on his shoulder with a gentle squeeze.

The four of them moved off in the direction of McGonagall's office, only Jareth was aware of the eyes that watched from the stairs that led to the dungeons where the Headmaster and another man stood, one glaring in hatred the other with worry and fear, remembering the last time he had seen Jareth. Knowing they were watching he couldn't resist turning his head and meeting the eyes of the old man giving him a smirk, revealing some if his sharper pointed Fae teeth.

xx

Once they reached the office McGonagall let them in and as soon as they were all inside she closed the door and stepping forward indicated her own chair, "My lord please take my chair it is much more comfortable than the others, I keep an enchantment on them to make them uncomfortable to students that have misbehaved."

Jareth smirked, "interesting, I may have to steal your idea, it would enhance the Oubliettes quite nicely."

Jared snorted at what he said as he made his way to one of the chairs, Jareth moved to the one behind the desk and McGonagall and Sprout both took a seat in front of the desk with Jared after summoning some extra ones from the corner of the office.

Jareth began their meeting by politely asking, "I trust no lessons are being disrupted while you are here?"

McGonagall calmly replied, "We informed the Headmaster that we intended to try and talk to Prince Jared to at least make an attempt to clean up the mess he had made and that therefore as the Headmaster he could deal with ensuring our classes are covered."

Jareth gave a small laugh, "Deputy Headmistress should you ever find yourself bored with your current vocation I am sure I can find you a place in my Labyrinth."

She gave him a brief smile, "I thank you sire and please you may call me Minerva, and I am sure my colleague would be happy for you to call her Pomona."

Sprout gave a confirming nod of assent, "I would sire."

Jareth gave a nod of acknowledgement and thanks, "Very well ladies, now perhaps you would be kind enough to tell me why my son was insulted and treated in a manner that is not fit for a student under your care let alone a Prince and Heir to a throne?"

Both women squirmed at that, but Sprout answered him, "It is with great regret that for too long we have allowed ourselves to be persuaded that certain attitudes of both staff and students are acceptable as well as listened to platitudes from the Headmaster that there would be changes when none were in fact done. This morning was an example of that and has opened the eyes for some of us."

"Indeed" McGonagall added, "I no longer intend to restrict my duties as Deputy Headmistress to administration work alone, I have every intention of starting to pay more attention to the active hands-on side of my role."

"And how can I be certain that my son will not only be able to walk around this school without being insulted but will not have to be in contact with members of staff that treat him as though he is worthless?" Jareth asked them with a dangerous edge to his voice.

McGonagall frowned, "Unfortunately only the Headmaster or the school board has the authority to remove a member of staff, however to ensure that there is minimum contact between your son and Professor Snape I was hoping to offer the services of tutor in his place."

"A tutor?" Jareth asked.

Professor Sprout said, " Sire, I am not just a teacher of the subject Herbology, I am also considered a master of it, as such I supply a great deal of people that consider me a trust worthy and reputable source. There is a young woman I know, she does not have a master's in the art of Potions as Professor Snape does, but she does have the qualifications to teach the subject to the required standard. I am more than happy to contact her and request her services for Prince Jared."

"I will also talk to all of the students and members of staff in the Great Hall at this evening's meal in regards to acceptable behaviour within the school, and remind everyone of the punishments for acting in an unacceptable manner, punishments that were set down long ago but have been neglected for too long as well" McGonagall added.

"Jared?" his father looked at him questioningly to see if this would be enough to make him stay.

Jared sat in silence as he considered what had been said, "What of the Headmaster? And the challenge I made to Mr Malfoy?" he asked them.

McGonagall frowned, "Mr Malfoy will be made to apologise and if he does not then I will use my authority as the Deputy Headmistress to override the Headmaster and allow the challenge to a duel that Prince Jared issued this morning to stand. The Headmaster himself is slightly more difficult, in his position he can request you to his office at any time should he wish, however that does not mean that you have to go alone." She looked directly at Jared now.

"If you feel threatened or intimidated to be near a member of staff that is in any position at the school, you have the right to a witness being present. As you are in Hufflepuff house I would suggest that anytime the Headmaster asks you to report to his office you advise this to Professor Sprout and she will accompany you, if she is not free as the Deputy Headmistress you may request my presence instead." She gave a grimace as she finished, "I will also inform the Headmaster that this is a condition you have agreed to if you are to remain at the school and that only myself and Professor Sprout can be present no other teachers can act in our place, would this be acceptable your highness?"

Jared gave a nod of his head and a small smile to her, "It would be for me, what do you think my lord?"

Jareth gave a nod of his, "I find all that you have mentioned to be acceptable, it is a shame that such things are required to be put in place though for a place of learning."

McGonagall's grimace deepened to a look of distaste, "And it is something I intend to rectify as soon as I can, unfortunately it will not be easy to make many changes straight away, but I will make a start on them."

Jareth gave her a calculating look before saying, "I may be able to help you there, but I must ask for an oath from you ladies, to not reveal what I will now reveal to you."

Sprout and McGonagall shared a look of equal curiosity and silent agreement, "You have my word and oath on my magic sire I will not reveal what you now tell me." McGonagall said, quickly followed by Sprout.

Jareth gave a smile filled with mischief, "I am the King of the Goblins."

Both sat there in shock, Jared couldn't help laughing at the look on both their faces, "Brilliant Father, absolutely brilliant, that has just brightened what was becoming a really horrible day."

"As Master of Mischief do you expect anything less? Now ladies, as the King of the Goblins I can authorise them to give you all possible assistance that is available by Gringotts."

McGonagall said, "Thank you my lord that is a very generous offer. But I do not see what help the bank can do to help make changes within the school?"

A smirk appeared on Jareth's face, "A conversation that I do not think my son needs to a part of, after all he is meant to be here learning and I am sure he should be in class right now."

Jared sat up, "What wait, no father you can't send me away, I want to stay."

"You are a student of this school again now Jared, as such there is no reason for you to be present and hear discussions that you have business to be a part of. Off to classes' young man, or would you like me to tell your Stepmother that you are trying to avoid your training?"

Jared went silent for a moment, and his eyes widened with a touch of horror in them before turning to Professor Sprout and quickly saying, "Professor it would appear that I do not yet have my class schedule, would you happen to know what class I should be attending at this moment?"

Sprout tried to hide her smile, "I have your schedule here." She pulled the copy she was due to give him along with all the other first years at breakfast out of a pocket in her robe, handed it to him; he gave it a quick glance before standing and with a respectful bow to them all hastily left the room.

Once he was gone she turned back to the King and said with amusement, "I shall have to remember that if I ever have a problem with him doing his homework."

Jareth laughed, "It never fails." Both of the Professors joined him in his laughter before returning to their conversation on how the Goblins could help them make changes.

xxxx

During the rest of the day the prefects for all four houses received a message from their heads of houses that they were to ensure all members of their house were to be in the Great Hall by six thirty as there was an important announcement to be made before the evening meal was to be served.

Prince Jared sent his letter about the dream he had had off with Hedwig and also received a message from Professor Sprout asking him to go to the anti-room off the Great Hall at six o'clock. When he arrived he found not only Professor McGonagall and Sprout but Professor Snape and Draco Malfoy waiting there.

"Please come in Prince Jared" McGonagall said. He stepped further in, moving to stand near to his head of House. Snape was stood with his arms crossed across his chest a sour bitter look on his face, his eyes also had an intense anger burning in them as he glared at the Jared.

Malfoy stood looking sulky and sullen next to the tall dark man, anger burning in his own eyes as he glared at Jared as well.

"Now Prince Jared, this morning you were insulted by Mr Malfoy and issued a formal duel, I have spoken to Mr Malfoy and explained to him not only why his behaviour was wrong but that it is not behaviour that is tolerated here at Hogwarts, as such he will apologise to you here and now. Will this be sufficient for you to retract your challenge of a duel?" McGonagall asked him.

Jared gave her a short bow of his head, "Deputy Headmistress McGonagall I thank you for explaining to Mr Malfoy what I believe any gentleman should have been raised to know and if he apologises and I feel it to be a sincere apology I will retract my challenge." He then turned to regard Malfoy, burying the intense dislike he had begun to have for the boy behind a neutral mask he had developed during the many formal visits and parties he had been dragged to by his father.

Snape sneered at him and began to spit out, "I find…" but was immediately interrupted by McGonagall who's voice was filled with tightly controlled anger.

"Enough Severus we have spoken on this, you have made your feelings clear and perhaps one day if you are the deputy head of this school the students can acts as bullies but not while I am in the position."

Snape was now glaring at her with the same intense hatred he had been showing Jared but did not say another word while Malfoy looked up at him with a pleading look of is own but seeing he was not going to get any help from him turned back to glaring at Jared.

"Mr Malfoy," McGonagall snapped, "we do not have all night, now I suggest you apologise or accept Prince Jared's challenge."

Malfoy actually managed to keep the anger and shame he was feeling at having to do this from being heard in his voice as he said, "Prince Jared, I would like to apologies for the insults I gave to you, your friends and Hufflepuff house this morning, my words were ill thought and should not have been said."

Jared held his gaze for a few moments, letting the silence between them stretch out before finally saying in a formal cool voice, "I accept your apology Mr Malfoy and retract my challenge to a formal duel."

McGonagall gave him a single nod, "Thank you the points removed from Hufflepuff house this morning will also be restored, now I suggest you both head out to the Great Hall."

Jared gave her a second short bow, this time bending slightly at the waist instead of just his head and as he turned to head out of the anti-room Sprout briefly put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a small squeeze and smiled at him to show that she was happy with his conduct there. He returned her smile and then went to wait for his friends to arrive at the Hufflepuff table and when they did he told them what had happened in a quiet voice while they all waited for any last minuets students to arrive.

It was just after half six when the Head Boy and Girl advised the staff table that the prefects for all houses had confirmed to them that all the students were now there. All of the staff were present as well, including Trelawney and Binns, both had been told to make sure to be there by McGonagall earlier in the day.

In the case of Binns it had taken McGonagall ten minutes to get him to agree to attend as he kept saying that it was irregular and not his normal routine, he even kept trying to leave the room on her as he was usually heading for the staff room at that time after a class. Finally McGonagall had snapped that he was only a professor and so would do as the Deputy Headmistress told him or she would see him fired and exercised from the school. It was this that had finally gotten through to him and so there he was hovering at the end of the table.

After hearing that an announcement was going to be made the students were expecting Dumbledore to be the one to stand and speak to them, therefore apart from Jared they were surprised to see McGonagall get up and move around the table to stand before them all. Behind her Dumbledore sat in his own slightly raised seat, smiling gently and observing them all with his usual twinkling eyes, looking like a benevolent king watching over them all and in harmony with his staff and their actions.

Inside Dumbledore was fuming, that McGonagall was daring to give this lecture to the students, that she was effectively taking the first big step to running all the work he had done on creating the tensions between the houses. Didn't she know that if they stopped the students from acting as they did they would start to co-operate with each other and then this would lead to them thinking that they could decide their own paths in life and ignore him.

After all if they insulted and fought each other then he could make sure he stepped in with those that were the worst and make them thankful for his attention and look up to him as he gave them a far easier punishment then they deserved, which would lead to them listening to him because he had shown that he was the one who understood them and was willing to help them and give them a second chance. This would lead to him then be able to make sure they are on the correct path that he decided they need to be on for the greater good.

If they stopped the insults and fighting then this would be impossible, but he also needed to keep Harry Potter in the school and this he had been told was a part of the conditions the man claiming to care of the boy had insisted on to allow him to remain. Well it was a small concession and one he could work around, after all his deputy couldn't be everywhere so he was sure he would still be able to work something out to show and work with those that needed his favour and guidance.

It also still galled him that he could no longer go near the boy either, not if he wanted to keep him in the school still again that was what proxies were for and so another problem he could soon get around. He sat and watched the students feeling sure he knew what the reaction would be for most of them to this little lecture.

"Good evening," McGonagall began looking out over the four house tables, "I am sure you are all wondering why we have called you all together tonight, in relation to events that occurred this morning it has become clear to the staff that certain behaviours being exhibited by some students and even members of staff have come to be thought of as not only normal but acceptable. This ends now." Her voice became hard and firm at this last bit and she continued to speak in the same hard tone of voice for the rest of her speech.

"We are here to give you an education, you are here to learn not only the necessary skills that will aid you in your life after Hogwarts but to find friends that will be with you as you go through life.

Insulting and fighting has never been considered acceptable for within these walls but this seems to be have been forgotten so tonight I am reminding everyone any action taken by anyone be they student or staff that insults, belittles or looks to be to the detriment, either mental or physical of anyone will be dealt with.

If you are heard to call a fellow resident of the school a nasty and racist name or insult their heritage then 30 points will be taken from your house and you will serve three detentions with the head of house for the student you have insulted.

Insults of a personal nature to a fellow resident of the school will results in 30 points and three detentions with the head of house of the one insulted.

Any physical acts seen to occur will be met with 50 points from your house and a week of detention with the head of house for the victim.

Prefects, should you be found to be involved in any acts such as these will mean the immediately loss of your prefect badge.

These are only the main ways we have seen bullying starting to occur within the school but we know they are not all that goes on, however anything outside the three ways I have mentioned will be dealt with on an individual basis, and if the act is not directly witnessed by a professor then the matter will be heard by the heads of houses for the students involved and all wands involved will also be examined.

If the one causing insults or any other act of bullying is found to be a member of staff then they will be dealt with by myself and the Headmaster together.

We are warning you now; we consider this school to now have an attitude of intolerance to any who do not want to treat their fellow residents with the respect we all deserve."

She gave them all one last firm hard look before returning to her seat at the staff table, the silence stretched for another minute before the food for the evening meal began appearing, at this the silence was broken as people began eating but a subdued air remained as they all talked about what had been said and what effect it would have on life in the school.

xxxx

A/N Sorry about the late posting for this chapter, turns out I had forgotten o write the scene where Malfoy apologise and McGonagall gives her lecture to the rest of the school so I have had to spend all morning working on that. On the plus side it has doubled the size of the chapter as it was looking to be quite a short one otherwise.

Keep writing and have fun

V.


	13. Chapter 13 - Lessons begin

Disclaimer: I can honestly say that after looking at my poor bank balance I do not own any of the characters that you see and recognise here from either Harry Potter or The Labyrinth, I am just having a little fun with them all

**Chapter Thirteen – Lessons begin**

The first week passed, and after what had happened on the first day, it had resulted in whispers and stares following Jared everywhere he went. The tentative friendship he had started with his fellow dorm mates faltered slightly but after a day or two they began to relax again.

Malfoy kept his distance from Jared, clearly avoiding the young prince and trying to keep his head down, if rumours were to be believed the large eagle owl that was seen delivering a letter to Malfoy two days after the first day held a very scathing letter from his father on the correct behaviour of an heir to the Malfoy house, especially when speaking and dealing with someone with as much potential political power as Jared had. According to rumours this had resulted in Malfoy keeping his head down in his own house as well as around the rest of the school.

The friendships he had begun with Neville and Hermione had also continued, they would often meet in the library and study together for at least an hour before heading out for a walk either around the castle or on the grounds to talk about anything other than class work.

Hermione had been very reluctant the first time Jared suggested it until he made the point that studying all the time was not only boring but useless because after a certain amount of time the brain would reach a limit on how attentive it would be and that this affected the rate at which it could take in knowledge, it was best to take a break and recharge. After the first couple of days of doing this even Hermione had to admit that she was finding it easier to study, remember and understand the work.

It was during classes that he was given a reprieve from all the stares and whispers, as they all concentrated on what they were being taught.

He found astronomy interesting, he had loved learning all of the different constellations of the Underground, and now he had a whole new set to look at and learn.

History of magic not only bored him but eventually began to anger him after only an hour, the teacher, a ghost of a professor, taught them about the Goblin wars and even then it was to only make it sound as though they were nothing but creatures that fought and squabbled like children. He taught nothing of the reasons behind the fights, or of the intricate politics that existed between the different goblin clans, something Jared had been obliged to learn due to his position as their prince.

What was worse was the subject was called history of magic and yet after flicking ahead in his text book and speaking to some older students he found out that they never seemed to study the history of human magic or that of any other magical creature's origins. Never once did they speak of the elves, it was as though they had either been forgotten or shockingly ignored.

Herbology again he found to be interesting, he knew of all the different plants and such that grew in the Labyrinth and several that didn't and so it was similar to astrology, an old area with new information.

Charms and Transfiguration presented him with a lovely challenge. The magic was new and interesting, he soaked up every word, every wand movement determined to triumph in these new subjects.

He hated Defence Against the Dark Arts. This was another area he had trained in heavily as he grew up, having several masters of weapons and hand-to-hand training as well as masters of battle magic in both Fae and Goblin magic, he had hoped to start beginning something similar with his human magic.

Instead he just couldn't concentrate with the thick layer of evil smothering Professor Quirrell, reaching out to him every time he was anywhere near the Professor. It made his skin crawl, he didn't even need to open his Fae senses to be able to sense it, it was so strong, he couldn't understand how the Headmaster didn't feel it f he was so great a wizard as everybody said he was.

And as for the stuttering the man did when speaking, Jared could see it was as fake as the false alarms scattered throughout the Labyrinth. He had no doubt that this was the teacher that needed watching the most after the Headmaster and his glaring, sneering puppet, Jared decided he would also mention it to his father in one of his next letters home.

Finally he had Potions.

They had heard the horror stories from the older students and from the other first years that had already had Potions lessons with Snape during the week and as Jared broke off from the rest of the Hufflepuff student's, they all looked at him with envy.

Unlike the others that headed further into the dungeons, Jared stopped not that far past Hufflepuff house, it was still enough to give a chill to the air that was not felt until you had moved several feet past Hufflepuff house and entered the dungeons properly. It was at the top of the stairs that descended even further in that Jared turned and headed for a class room that was about three feet in from the corridor and stairs.

Knocking on the door he heard 'Enter' and pushing it open found himself in what appeared to be a dis-used class room that had obviously been quickly cleaned so as to be put back into use for his lessons.

At the front stood a young woman with short brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, warm blue eyes and dressed in a pair of black trousers, a comfortable fitting white top and an open fronted black over robe that looked more like a lab coat than a traditional wizarding robe. She gave a smile and said, "Prince Jared, please come in and take a seat."

Jared moved to the front of the class room and took a seat at the desk set up in front of her. "My name is Susan Whitehorn, I don't have a formal qualification to be a professor, and as such I am unable to claim that for a title so I thought we could keep things a little more informal and let you call me either Sue or Susan."

Jared gave a smile, "That sounds fine with me, and if we are going to be informal then I guess I should let you call me Jared."

"Excellent, now to begin with have you read any of your potions text book?" She asked him taking a seat opposite him but at the same desk.

Jared gave a nod, "I read through the first three chapters, all the ones to do with preparation of ingredients, I didn't go further because then it starts to deal with the actual brewing of potions and I didn't think I would need that yet."

He got a smile at that, "Excellent and you are spot on thinking that, only an idiot would start you brewing potions without making sure you have a thorough knowledge of how to prepare your ingredients, including what tools are best to use on different things as well as how the ingredients interact with each other in the potion being brewed.

With that in mind the first two full lessons we have together we are going to cover all the different tools that can be used in potions and how the different materials to make those tools can have different effects as well as the different methods for preparing ingredients finishing with an overview of all the most common ingredients used in potions today and how they can interact with each other. After that we will spend the first half hour of each lesson on the different ingredients that will be used in the potion we will be brewing before we actually brew it in what remains of that day's lesson."

Jared gave a nod and pulled parchment, a quill and ink out of his bag, "Ok so may I ask what we are going to begin with?"

Sue stood up and walked over to the teachers desk where she picked up a silver case and walking back over she put it down and opening up the top which folded out into two sections, Jared could now see that it was set up like the old fashioned doctors bags but looked much more modern, inside there were all sorts of tools neatly put away in the best place for them. "First of all we are going to go over the different tools that are available, this is my own personal kit, now some of these tools you won't need until you're in at least your third or fourth year level potions but it won't hurt for you to learn about them now."

They then spent the rest of the lesson going through each of the tools, Sue would pull one out, describe it and how it would help with the potion or preparation of ingredients and if it came in any other type of materials and if so what they were and how they affected a potion. By the end of the lesson they had gone through the whole kit with Jared taking lots of notes.

As Jared packed up his things Sue said, "Now next lesson as I said we are going to go over ingredients, this year I think we'll stick the most common ingredients you would find in simple potions as they are what will be used on all of your first year potions. Before your next lesson I want an essay listing all of the tools we have gone over today, with a short paragraph about five or six lines long describing what the tool does."

Jared noted this down in a separate notebook he kept that listed all of his homework assignments, that way he could keep a track of what he had to do and for when, as well as what he had already done.

"Thanks for a great lesson Sue, from what I hear about the normal potions teacher Mr Snape I don't think he even tells the students what the tools are we use or even the best way to prepare things."

Sue grimaced, "I know he doesn't, I came here for my schooling and had to sit through my last two years with him as my teacher, I was lucky that I seem to have a natural talent with potions otherwise I would have struggled to get the O I did in my NEWTS. I know a lot of students that should have gotten the same grade as me didn't because of him."

Jared shook his head, "I really don't know how they get away with having someone that is clearly wrong for a teaching position remain in it for as long as he has."

Sue gave a sigh, "I know what you mean, but I do know that Professors Sprout and McGonagall are working on it, and I wouldn't be too surprised if Professor Flitwick is enlisted in that soon"

"He's the head of Ravenclaw isn't he?" Jared asked, when she gave him a nod in reply he said, "I like him, we had Charms on Tuesday, I really enjoyed the lesson and can't wait to learn more."

Sue gave a huge smile as she walked him out of the class room and back to the main entrance hall, "He was my Head of house, I was a Ravenclaw when I was here, and he was always fair but don't ever cross him, he is part goblin and if you get him angry he can get very ferocious. It's possibly what made him such a good duelling champion."

Jared raised his eyebrows at being told the little wizard was part goblin, he had thought he felt some kind of pull to the little man but had thought it was just to do with his general demeanour, and to hear he was a duelling champion made him reconsider his opinion of Flitwick being a push over as he had thought he would be considering how cheerful he always seemed to be.

He gave her a smile of thanks, "I'll keep that in mind." They reached the main entrance and said there goodbyes, Jared decided to head into the Great Hall to wait for his fellow Hufflepuff students as lunch would be starting soon.

While he waited he pulled out his quill, ink and some parchment deciding to write to his father, he had been told not to tell anyone what kingdom he was a prince off, but considering Professor Flitwick's heritage he wanted to see if he could get permission to at least tell him.

He had just finished it and folded it up, shoving it in bag as the rest of his year mates turned up. "Hey guys, how was your potions lesson?"

The others all sat down around him with several groans, "It was dreadful" Justin answered for them all, "he never stopped insulting us, and he didn't give any kind of instruction either. He put the recipe for the potion on the board and told us to make it."

Susan Bones's voice was filled with disgust as she said, "My aunt is the head of the DMLE," She saw a couple of confused looks from a some of the others so quickly said as explanation, "Magical law enforcement, and she has told me that before you can learn how to do or use something you have to understand how it works first. Personally even after brewing the potion I still have no idea about the basics of it."

Justin looked at him with envy as he asked, "What about your lesson? How did it go?"

Jared gave a smile, "It was actually quite good, my tutor Susan Whitehorn, went over all the types of tools that can be used for brewing and next week we are going over all the common ingredients that we'll be using in the potions for first year."

"Man Prince Jared, you are so lucky. I don't suppose there is any way of getting us into your tutor's class is there instead of Snape's?" Justin asked him hopefully.

Jared gave him an apologetic smile, "Sorry guys I don't think it would work, but you know you could all submit complaints about him to Professor Sprout, if she can't do anything then submit them directly to the school board."

He got a snort of laughter from several of the students, not just from some of the first years but some older ones too that had been listening in subtly. Before he could insist on it being one of their rights it was Susan one of the few that hadn't laughed that said, "Actually Prince Jared is right, we are allowed to go over the heads of the members of staff at the school if we feel like they won't listen to us. Of course if any complaints sent to the board are found to be invalid it can back fire fairly badly on the student making the complaint."

This sparked a discussion up and down the table that carried on for the rest of lunch as well as later in the evening over dinner. By that point the discussion had also spread to both Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables along with some possible ideas on how to submit complaints not just of individual students but groups of them working together.

It was after dinner that Jared made his way to the owlery, he spent some time with Hedwig before sending her off with his letter, before heading back to Hufflepuff house for the evening.

xxxx

A/N And so the first week is done and we are off. I hope you all like how I have set the potions lessons up, I love cooking and while I have never had professional training it, my dad is a chef, although retired now, so I have a good idea how important it is to use the right knives for certain tasks and that using the right ingredients, or even the different ways to use those ingredients can affect the flavour so I figured it would be similar for potions.

Also I read a lot of fantasy books and the main characters are usually taught how to make their weapons before they are even allowed to use them so as to make sure they know everything about them to have a better understanding on how to use them, again I thought this would make sense for not just potions but magic in general, it certainly explains why teachers like McGonagall and Flitwick always seem to make them take lots of notes before trying to do the spells.

Thank you everyone for the fantastic response I am still getting to this, I don't think I've ever had so many favourites and followed before It is all really appreciated so a big thank you to everyone.

Keep writing and have fun

V.


	14. Chapter14 Healthy swim, connections made

Disclaimer: I can honestly say that after looking at my poor bank balance I do not own any of the characters that you see and recognise here from either Harry Potter or The Labyrinth, I am just having a little fun with them all

**Chapter Fourteen – Healthy swim and connections made**

Jared got up early the next morning; he had decided to wait until after the first week before carrying on with some of his usual exercise routine so as to give him time to find the best areas for what he needed. After getting changed into some workout clothes he headed out to the lake.

As the lake was only half a mile in diameter, but he had sensed an entire colony of mer-people below its surface on the trip across it on the first night, not to mention the giant squid that they saw made regular appearances, Jared figured it had be extremely deep possible even branching out further in a direction under the surrounding grounds that they could not see to form an underground lake somewhere.

Instead of walking to the lake Jared jogged down, using it as a part of his warm up. Once he reached the edge of the lake he spent the next twenty minutes going through several different stretches before stripping off his loose trousers to reveal a pair of swimming shorts. He folded the trousers and placed them on the ground before drawing a circle around them in the dirt, along with a few Fae symbols that would ensure no one could touch them until he either removed the symbols or broke the circle himself.

He walked into the lake until it was up to his thighs; standing there he closed his eyes and concentrated, allowing his Fae magic to fill him up and change him just enough to be able to breath under water, as well as not feel how cold the water was or be affected by changes in pressure the deeper he swam. As long as he didn't come into contact with anything made from iron in the lake his changes would hold for as long as he needed them to.

Diving in under the water he began heading in the direction of the colony of mer-people he had sensed, taking his time to explore a little and find some of the other magical species that lived in the waters. He found the Giant Squid and played with it for nearly half an hour before carrying on.

Finally he heard the sound of music and singing, following it he came upon three mer-people, one playing an instrument while the other two sang together in a duet. Jared hung back slightly listening to them, only when they were coming to the end of the song did he swim a little closer allowing them to see him.

All three stopped and swam away from him several feet, Jared raised his hands above his head calmly calling out in mermish, "I mean no harm, my name is Prince Jared I come seeking friendship with the clan can you take me to one I can speak to?"

The male member of the trio swam a little closer and considered him before replying, "I serve in the guards for the clan, I can take you to my captain. He will decided if you are a threat or not."

He passed the instrument he had been playing to one of the females before indicating Jared to follow him, with a nod of acceptance Jared swam after him.

After following his guide for about five minutes Jared saw a structure made from coral and seaweed, it matched ones that he could see a short distance away on either side and had no doubt that they lined the perimeter of the area that the clan had settled in.

As they approached another mer-man swam out, he was much bulkier than the one he followed and wore a metal breast plate and vanbraces. He also had a sword hanging from a belt, all of which Jared hoped contained no iron as they were now very deep into the lake and just one touch form any of them and it would undo the Fae magic he had cast on himself and he wasn't sure he would make it back to the surface before drowning.

"Earvin what are you doing here, it's your day off. I don't have you scheduled for duty today." He said to the young mer-man.

"I know captain; I went out with Ara and Brenna. We were practicing for the concert when we were approached by this boy. He called himself Prince Jared and tells us that he comes seeking friendship with the clan. I thought it best to bring him to you."

He swam to the side a little, revealing Jared behind him. The captain regarded him for a moment, "you did correct Earvin. Come young human wizard, join me inside and we will talk." He turned went back into the structure that was obviously a guard post clearly expecting Jared to follow him which he did giving a nod of thanks to his guide.

Inside the captain gestured to what was a chair but to Jared looked more like a stool with a top that slanted more than normal, perching on the end he politely said, "I give you my word Captain, I come only seeking peace and friendship. You are correct to identify me as a human wizard, but I am also half-Fae and Son and Heir to the throne of the Goblins."

The captain seemed slightly surprised at this, "We heard rumours several years ago from our brethren Underground that the goblin King suddenly had an Heir that was only half-Fae, but then when we heard of his marriage and birth of his children we considered the rumours to be untrue. We did not think the King would allow someone who is not fully of his blood to be his Heir."

Jared gave a small smile at this, "The story of how I can to be my father's Son and Heir is a long one, perhaps best for another time. I recently came to Hogwarts to begin training my human magic, on the night we arrived and I passed over the lake I sensed your clan and hoped that we could be friends. I sometimes visited some of the clans in the Underground and made several friends amongst them."

The captain listen to him and again considered him for several moments before saying, "If the decision was mine to make I would say you are welcome, we have only a little contact with our Underground cousins and I for one would be more than happy to hear the news from there. Unfortunately though it is for our King and Queen to decide if we have contact with you; I can pass your request for friendship to them but I do not think they would see you or make a decision today. It would be best if you returned to the surface and waited for us to contact you."

Jared rose, "I understand and I am happy to wait for your King and Queen's decision but I must ask that you not inform Dumbledore that I have been here."

The curious and suddenly wary look he received from the captain had him explaining, "He has tried to manipulate my life in ways that angered my father when he found out, as well as insist on not calling me by my name and title since I arrived at the castle which is highly insulting. All of this has led to a lot of mistrust for him by both me and my father."

The guard captain nodded in understanding, "The clan greatly distrust all Witches and Wizards, and Dumbledore has proven rather slippery in his dealing with the clan, however he is the Headmaster of the school and as such has complete say in if we can remain in the Lake so the King and Queen have had to be cautious in their dealing with him. I will pass your request for anonymity on to them as well."

Jared gave a true smile at the captain now, "Thank you, before you allow me to leave may I ask the name of your clan?"

The Captain indicated that Jared should join him back outside as he replied, "We are known as the Black Lake Clan."

Jared followed him and gave a small laugh, "I should have guessed given this is called the Black Lake."

The captain returned his smile, "Indeed, now if you continue in that direction for about ten minutes, it will place you about ten minutes' walk from the castle but will also avoid the nest of Grindylows that live in the seaweed not far from here."

Jared gave a short bow to him, "Thank you Captain." He then concentrated hard and managed to create a small crystal, holding it out to the captain he said, "If you or anyone who wants to contact me holds this and think of my name, I'll know and try to get to the lake as soon as I can."

The captain took it cautiously as he said, "You give your word as a Prince this will hurt no one should I hand it to them?" clearly he was thinking of the safety of his King and Queen, something Jared could understand as he would have asked the same if their positions were reversed.

Placing his hand over his heart he said, "I give you my word of honour on my blood and magic that this will harm no one be they living or dead should you hand it to them and is for communication only."

This seemed to satisfy the guard captain and with his own short bow bid him goodbye before returning back to the guard post.

Jared swam back to the surface in the direction the captain had pointed in, when he did surface he concentrated his Fae magic and retuned himself back to being able to breath on land and then after orientating himself with the position the castle was compared to where he had entered the lake, swam back to where he had left his trousers. Getting out he put them back on and then went for a jog around the lake before returning back to the castle to grab a shower and change.

By the time this was all done it was now 10 o'clock in the morning, knowing that he had missed breakfast Jared decided the time had come for him to make friends with a certain pair of prankster hoping that if they knew the castle so well to set up some of the pranks he had been hearing about from older Hufflepuff's that they might know the way to the kitchens where he would then be able to get a late breakfast, depending on how long it took him to locate them.

He made his way to an old abandoned class room that was about a five minute walk away from Hufflepuff house and pushed back some of the desks to create a space large enough for him to settle into a comfortable position for meditation, he had been intending to find somewhere to do this anyway, it was just a little earlier than planned.

Of course he was going to have to give the place a proper clean up, all done without the use of magic to ensure he didn't contaminate the area, maybe even use a few crystals to give a full cleansing to help enhance a calm and peaceful place that would help him when meditating but that can wait.

He settled down on the floor and quickly fell into his meditative state; it was there that he was able to perfectly use his Fae magic. He began to open his Fae senses fully to the environment, he had been keeping them pulled in as much as possible since he had arrived, not being sure how much it would overwhelm him to look at somewhere like Hogwarts with them.

Unlike his brother and sisters who were full Fae and as such could handle having there magical senses open all the time, it had taken Jared the last six years to get used to having his senses fully open to his surroundings Underground, although when there was a wisher in the Labyrinth he had to close them down to half as the magic in it always increased at that time, not that it stopped him from helping in any way it just made it more of a challenge for him.

This was his first opportunity to sit for as long as he needed to slowly open his senses and observe the magic around him and compare it to what he lived with Underground.

At first he was surrounded by white light, it was a jumbled sense of determination, happiness, embarrassment, sadness, anger, relaxation, frustration, amusement, impressed, disappointment, approval but most of all there was sense of great power that all seemed to be emanating from the stones of the whole castle. Considering it was a school filled with pre- and current teens the mixture of emotions was hardly surprising.

Slowly Jared filtered out each emotion until all he could feel was the sense of power, he reached out to it. He was hoping that after all the magic that had been cast within and around the castle for so many years it had now become a little like the Labyrinth and had some sentience.

He finally felt it, a slight shift in the power in response to his own reaching out. He waited patiently for it, finally it seemed to recognise that he was there and it reached back to him. A sudden sense of steady calm, patience and comfort surrounded him. He sent back a sense of welcome and friendship, and after a few moments this same sense was reflected back at him but slightly different, it had a sense of an older personality, and yet still younger than the Labyrinth's own personality.

He spent several minutes practicing sending messages back and forth with the castle, thankful when he figured out that the castle was sentient enough to understand mental images. He sent an image of a map with an x marking a spot along with a picture of the twins. He got the response he hoped, an image showing the twins in an old dusty class room with their heads bent over a bubbling cauldron. He had a suspicion that they were not practicing a potion from one of their lessons, a suspicion confirmed by the sense of amusement the castle gave him at their actions clearly the twins were brewing up something for a prank. The castle then pulled him along several corridors showing him the best path to get to them.

His next question for the castle was for a secure place for him to meet the twins and talk to them. This time he was shown the seventh floor corridor, a tapestry of a man and three trolls dressed in tutus. The wall opposite was a wall of white light with several runes etched into it that glowed with a sapphire blue light, the image of a door in between them surrounded by blue flames.

The image suddenly disappeared and was replaced with an image of the kitchens filled with house-elves dashing about, it pulled back to reveal a picture of a bowl of fruit, the pear had a glowing rune on top of it. He also felt a gentle nudge from the castle; it wanted him to go there, Jared realised the castle must have known he hadn't attended breakfast and was trying to help him get something now.

He sent back a feeling of thanks for showing him the kitchens before he came out of his meditative state happy with what he had learned and of the new friend he had made. He stood and stretched out the mild cramps that had started to form after sitting in the same position for so long. He quickly followed the path the castle had shown him to reach the kitchens, altgough it took him a few moments of pushing and prodding at the pear before he tried stroking it, at which it gave a giggle and the picture swung open to reveal the way in.

He spent five minutes in the kitchens; the house-elves were more than happy to get him some food he could eat as he went to find the twins. Once he left them he followed the path the castle had shown him to reach the twins and when he was one or two corridors away he began whistling a cheerful tune as loud as he could not wanting to surprise them by just walking into the room, after all who knew what precautions they had taken against being disturbed.

Ten seconds after he began whistling he was confronted by the twins, "Greetings your highness…" Fred began.

"What brings you to these distant parts of the castle?" George finished both grinning at him but he could see a look of wary caution in both their eyes.

He grinned back at them both, "I had hoped to have a cosy little chat with you both. I asked the castle where you might be and she pointed me in this direction."

They looked curious at this, "The castle told you?" George asked him.

Jared's smile widened, "I'll tell you if you'll follow me to a room I know is private. Assuming the potion you're working on can be left right now?"

Fred and George looked at each other and had a silent conversation, turning back to him Fred said, "We need ten minutes and then we can meet you."

Jared nodded his head in understanding, "Ok meet me on the seventh floor, across from a tapestry with a guy and three trolls in tutus in ten minutes." The twins agreed before heading back to their prank potion.

Jared made his way to the seventh floor and easily found the tapestry, the small brass plaque at the edge of it identifying it as Barnabas the Barmy. He turned and faced the blank wall opposite it, stepping up to it he ran his hand over as much of the wall as he could, feeling the power running through it, so much more than any other wall in the castle he had touched or brushed against so far.

He closed his eyes and reached out with his senses, looking for a way to unlock and open the door. He felt the presence of Hogwarts surround him and in his mind's eye he saw Hogwarts cause the runes to flash in a certain sequence, taking the hint he placed his hand over each rune in the same sequence and with a brief flash of blue light the door appeared.

Pushing it open revealed a comfortable and large office, book shelves lined one wall, all filled with some even overflowing. Opposite them was a large fire place, the Ravenclaw crest carved above it. No fire burned but there was a bucket of fire wood beside it so Jared could easily start one if it got cold.

Under the window sat a large desk with a comfortable leather chair behind it, behind and off to the right was a matching bench, clearly meant for any experiments to be carried out on. The wall the door had opened onto was the side of the room that held a large leather sofa, made of the same comfortable looking leather as the desk chair, it had an arm chair on its far side, clearly enough seating for at least four people to sit and talk. The coffee table in front of them the perfect place for any drinks being had.

He thought it would be a much better room for him to use for his meditation instead of the old classroom he had used earlier, except it was further from the dorm rooms and he was unsure if the magic on the room would be hard for him to block out so decided to stick with the idea to clean out the old classroom for now.

He moved over to the book shelves and began looking through them while he waited for the twins to turn up. When they did arrive and stepped into the office they both went wide eyed, staring in awe, "The last time we came in here it was just a…" Fred began and George finished, "really roomy broom cupboard."

Jared gave a shrug and moved over to the sofa with the twins following him, "When I got here the castle showed me how to open the door with a set sequence of the runes etched in the wall. Looking at them though they had some kind of desire spell tied in with them so I guess unless you touch the runes in a set pattern to get into the office the room changes to what you need at the time."

"Interesting," George said before sitting down, "So your highness…"

"What did you want to…"

"Talk about?" they bounced back and forth.

Jared gave a smile at their twin speak but wanted to see if they could talk without it, "Ok guys if we are going to talk I'm going to need you to knock off the twin speak. As fun as it is to see you use it to confuse others, it doesn't work on me and it takes you guys longer to say a sentence together than if you say them separately and I don't want to be here all day."

George gave a shrug, "I guess we can do that, but would you mind telling us what you meant by the castle telling you where we were and showing you how to get in here?"

Jared gave a nod of his head, "Sure, I talked to her and she told me. When magic is used in a place enough times it begins to seep into the area, this castle has been used as a magical school since 900AD, that's nearly a thousand years of magic seeping into the stones of the school, naturally it's going to have an effect and has resulted in the castle becoming sentient. Not to the degree of some of the places where I live but enough for me to be able to communicate with her."

Fred looked around at the room as he said, "We have heard stories of that happening but never actually been somewhere that it had occurred."

"Yeah, but I'm guessing you didn't want to talk to us about the school being alive." George said looking at Jared curiously.

"I'd heard that you too are rather good at pranks, and as one of my titles is the Rogue Jester of the court I thought we could team up."

Both of the twins sat up straighter, their eyes gleaming in mischief with a tint of curiosity, "Rouge Jester of the court?" Fred asked him.

Jared shrugged, "I am a prince so it makes sense I'm part of a royal court and there are many titles for people in different courts depending on the kingdom. My father's court has many titles which deal with deceit and mis-direction."

"Any chance we could join the court and get the title Rogue Jester too?" George asked with a smile.

Jared laughed, "Sorry guys, I'm not allowed to say what Kingdom my family rule, so I don't think my father will let you join its court, I shouldn't really have told you my Rogue title but I thought as fellow pranksters that you can be trusted."

"Don't worry your highness, our lips are sealed" George said.

"Thanks guys and please call me Jared, if we're going to work a prank together I think it only fair you call me by my name."

"Thanks Jared, although we may still use your title sometimes if the comic timing calls for it." Fred answered with a huge smile.

Jared laughed again at this, "I can get that, now what I have planned is…" he began to explain his idea to the twins.

xxxx

A/N Again sorry for the late posting, ended up over sleeping a bit today (my partner dealt with our cats so I could sleep in) and then I had some business stuff do deal with so this got a little delayed.

This also brings us to the end of the next seven chapters to be posted as such I am again going to be taking a week off from posting, I will be back next Tuesday with the start of the next seven chapters, until then…

Keep writing and have fun

V.


	15. Chapter 15 - A new ally

Disclaimer: I can honestly say that after looking at my poor bank balance I do not own any of the characters that you see and recognise here from either Harry Potter or The Labyrinth, I am just having a little fun with them all

**Chapter Fifteen – A new ally **

The next day was bright and warm for early September; as a result most of the students were sitting at the house tables eating breakfast when the post arrived. Hedwig flew down and landed next to Jared, she received several admiring glances from some of the other students, especially the first years.

Jared took the letter and fed her some of the bacon off his plate; she happily nibbled at it while he read his letter.

_Prince Jared, Crown Prince and Heir to the Throne, Rogue Jester of the Court._

_Greeting my son from your family Underground. _

_We all miss you greatly, although I must confess to enjoying the peace and quiet that has resulted in your absence and thus a decline in the number of pranks played within the castle, although your brother and sisters do a remarkable job of attempting to keep things lively._

_It is in that vein that I am delighted to inform you of your sister's, Luigsech, accomplishment on receiving the title of Dame of Deception recently. We are all proud of her and a full day of celebration was held in her honour._

_The Labyrinth misses you as well, many times I have taken a walk within it as duty calls me too and see signs of it wishing you were running around enjoying its challenges once more._

_There has been only one addition since your journey Aboveground, I cannot report a running of the Labyrinth though as there was no desire to do so much to my usual disgust that as you have so charmingly put in the past results in my 'being a grump' for the rest of the day._

_Sarah is well and has asked that I remind you to make sure to eat, study and keep up with your training as well as to behave. She asked that I allow her to include a note from her but as this is meant to be to an answer to an official request made to your King I advised her to wait until our next letter to you._

_In regards to your request, I have looked into the person you mentioned and I can confirm that you were correctly informed; Filius Flitwick does have goblin blood within him. It would appear his grandmother on his father's side was a Goblin that married into the family._

_I have also found records of him winning several Goblin Tournaments AboveGround along with quite a few Wizard Duels back when he was younger. _

_With this in mind I am happy for you to tell him who you are, perhaps he could even assist you with your weapons training. I would also advise that you inform Deputy Headmistress McGonagall and Professor Sprout of your intentions to speak to Professor Flitwick as he would be another option for you have should the Headmaster request your presence._

_We await your next letter._

_With Love _

_Your Father_

_King Jareth, Lord of the Labyrinth, Duke of Deceit, Member of the Underworld Council, Owner and Chief Executive Officer of Gringotts Bank._

Jared couldn't stop grinning as he read the letter, the news of his sister's new title made him long to be back Underground, instead he made a promise to himself to sneak out sometime and get her a present from the forest, or maybe the mer-people and send it to her.

He was also pleased that he had been given permission to speak to the small professor. He quickly finished his breakfast and telling Hedwig to return to the owlery told his fellow first years that he would see them in the library in a couple of hours.

They all planned on meeting up and having a study session with a few others from some of the other houses, that way, even though it was still only the end of the first week, if any one was struggling with their homework in a particular area they can get help from one of the others, it was something they planned to do every Sunday afternoon and had been suggested to them by one of the older Hufflepuff's, but because of Jared's friendship to Neville and Hermione they had decided to do it in the library.

He made his way the front of the hall and the staff table. He stopped in front of where the small professor sat, "Excuse me Professor Flitwick." He waited until the small man acknowledged him before continuing, "My apologies for disturbing you on a Sunday, but if you are not doing anything after breakfast I was hoping to have a word with you sir?"

Flitwick smiled at him, "Of course Prince Jared, if you meet me by the doors to the great hall in five minutes we will go to my office."

Jared gave a short bow of his head, "Thank you sir." Before moving off and heading to wait for the small man.

Soon they were both heading to Flitwick's office, they entered and Jared couldn't help having a curious glance around as Flitwick headed for his own chair. The small office was crammed with books and papers everywhere. The only clear area was the two chairs in front of the desk. "Please take a seat your highness."

"Thank you sir," Jared replied sitting down in front of him, "again my apologies for disturbing you on the weekend sir,"

Flitwick waved away his comment, "no apology is needed Prince Jared, if a student needs me then I am happy to help them in any way I can regardless of the time or day. Now what I can I do for you? Are you having a problem with your Charms homework?"

Jared shook his head, "No thank you sir, what I wanted to talk to you about is a little delicate and personal sir, please may I have your word and oath on your blood and magic that you will not reveal anything we discuss today with anyone except Professors Sprout and McGonagall?"

Flitwick looked surprised and then very serious as he said, "That is a very serious request, may I ask before agreeing, is this something that will cause harm to other students?"

Jared shook his head, "No sir, it is merely to ensure safety to myself, I have been given permission from my father the King to reveal information to you sir, but it is extremely delicate and as such the oath is required before I can go any further. You can say no sir, there is no obligation for you to have this information, it was for my own personal reasons that I even sought permission from him."

Flitwick sat in silence for several minutes thinking, finally he said, "Tuesday evening Minerva, Professor McGonagall, informed all of the teachers that if we were to see the Headmaster trying to stop and have a private word with you we were to tell her as a result of what occurred on your first day. I assume that this information is related." He paused and waited for Jared to give a shrug and a nod before finishing, "therefore I am happy to give you my word and oath on my blood and magic that I will not reveal any information you give me today unless it is to those you have designated otherwise."

He sat back in his chair remarking, "I must admit, your highness I am a little curious as to the wording you requested for my oath, most people usually settle for an oath on magic."

Jared settled into is chair a little more, "Please you may call me Jared sir, and the wording also relates to what I have to tell you, I hope you take no offence sir but I heard a rumour that you had goblin blood and I asked my father to confirm if this is correct."

Flitwick smiled at him although he was also slightly confused at what appeared to be a change in the topic, "You did not have to ask you father you could have asked me, I take no offence at such questions. I can tell you that my grandmother was a goblin and I am proud of her lineage."

Jared broke out into a wide smile as he said that, "I'm glad to hear it sir, my father told me it was your grandmother and that it was because of your grandmother that I can tell you sir, my father is the King of the Goblins and I am his Son and Heir to the throne of the Goblin Kingdom."

Silence filled the office as what he said sank in, when it did Flitwick went wide eyed before jumping off his chair and almost running around his desk and fall to one knee with his head bowed and his right hand crossed over is heart as he said, "Your highness, I am honoured. I beg your forgiveness for not recognising you sooner. When you introduced yourself at the opening feast I knew your name sounded familiar but could not place why and it has been several years since I had contact with my goblin family. I am ashamed that I did not realise sooner where I had heard your name before."

Jared immediately got off his chair and pulled at one of Flitwick's shoulders, "Please sir, this is not necessary, in fact if anyone should be bowing it should be me." At Flitwick's disbelieving expression Jared explained, "You are one of my teachers, in the Underground that means you would hold the position of trainer someone to be respected and for as long as I was under your tutelage someone that is informally above me in rank."

Flitwick stood and couldn't help smiling at him, "Your highness, you show great wisdom and humility with your words."

Jared blushed, "please sir; I am only repeating what my father told me when I had my first tutor." He sat back down on his chair and Flitwick made his way back to his own at Jared's indication, "And as I said you can call me Jared." He finished with a smile appearing again.

Flitwick returned his smile with his own, "If you insist, and I would like to reiterate with my own personal word of honour that I will not reveal this to any one you do not wish to know. I can remember the stories my grandmother would tell me of how strict the King was on witches and wizards knowing about him. Though I did often wonder if the story and threat of the bog of eternal stench was ever real?" he asked a spark of curiosity in his eyes.

Jared gave a small chuckle, "Oh it's real, and is my father's favourite threat when anyone disobeys him."

Flitwick couldn't help chuckling as well as he heard this, "Sir," Jared said, "I didn't just ask for permission to tell you this because of your goblin lineage, I wanted you to know because of the problem I have had recently with the Headmaster."

Flitwick returned to looking serious as Jared spoke, "As you said before Professor McGonagall advised the teachers that you were all to tell her if the Headmaster tries to approach me for a private talk. This is because one of the conditions both me and my father conceded to for me to remain at the school was that if he ever wants to talk to me than either Professor McGonagall or Sprout have to be present, he isn't allowed to talk to me at all unless they are there. I want to include you on that list too."

Flitwick blinked in shock, "You do me a great honour and I would never refuse such a request, even if you were not the prince of the goblins I would agree, though I find I am unable to stop myself from asking why you have felt this necessary? Is it just because of the incident in the Great Hall on your first day?"

Jared gave a small sigh, "Yes and No. As a prince and heir to a throne, something Dumbledore knows I could not just stand there and allow someone of a lower rank insult me and my school house in the manner that Mr Malfoy did and then for Mr Snape, I will not call him a professor, to behave in such a manner to a student, even if he did not know I was a prince was just completely out of order, but to then have his actions defended by the Headmaster. It told me that he supported bullies something that no teacher let alone the headmaster of the school should allow.

However there is also the further reason that both my father and I have been aware for many years of certain things the headmaster did in an attempt to manipulate and try to gain control over my life. If he had succeed it would have meant a life of abuse for me, leaving me to view the wizarding world and more importantly the headmaster as a haven and saviour, again to try and manipulate me so I would be someone that would do everything he asks without question. In short sir I would be a weapon for him for when the dark wizard Tom Riddle Jr, also known as Voldemort returns."

Flitwick was once again left looking shocked at his words and asked "You are sure he is not dead?"

Jared shook his head, "He lost his body when he attacked that Halloween night, but due to conducting a certain Dark Ritual several times that created items not only of a vile nature, but became anchors ensuring his soul could not be laid to rest but remain in this world. He is in wraith form only, but he is alive and no doubt seeking a way to regain some form of physical form."

Flitwick looked serious, "I take it there are plans being made for when this happens, and as such I offer you any and all help that I can provide. You have but to ask and my wand and axe are yours and his Majesty's to command."

Jared smiled at the small professor again, "thank you sir, I will pass that on to my father so he knows. Now that all that is done, my father also write that you were once quite the duellist, and not just in the wizarding world but on the Goblin circuit too. Now I've been here a week and seen what's available I'm starting to put my exercise routine back together, I was hoping you would be willing to help me with my weapons training?"

Flitwick was almost bouncing in his chair at the thought, privately he missed the days when he had fought in the goblin tournaments he used to attend, the wizarding duelling circuit had always been exciting and challenging for him but they never quite gave him the thrill and buzz of striding into an arena with nothing but his axe and wits, to come out with a victory he had earned through hard work that most magical people did not understand as magic was often far easier to train at using than an actual physical weapon was.

Too often he had won his wizarding duels simply because his opponent had no stamina to fight as they had spent all their time learning spells but no time on training their body to be able to hold up long enough to cast the spells.

Now though he was being offered a chance not just to train the prince of the goblins in both magic and weapons but indulge his own passion in them as well in way he had long had to forego since taking up teaching due to a lack of interest from his fellow witches and wizards.

"I would be honoured to help you train, what are you currently doing now?" he asked wanting to get an idea of what Jared was doing to see where he could fit some time in with him.

Jared happily said, "So far I'm just getting up at about 6am and jogging down to the edge of the lake, near the big beech tree. When I get there I run through a series of exercises before running around to the lake as far as the start of the forest and back. This usually takes me up to about 7 o'clock so I quickly do my warm down exercises and jog back to the castle and back to my dorm where I get ready for the rest of the day. Although now that I have made contact with the Mer-Clan in the lake and if the clans king and queen allow it I am hoping to use Saturday mornings for swimming and hopefully some underwater training with the Mer-people."

Flitwick was impressed, "The Mer-people, my goodness I don't think anyone usually even remembers that they inhabit the lake. What of your studying is there a routine you have chosen for it?"

Jared gave a nod, "Seeing as classes generally finish about four in the afternoon, I usually sit in our common room working on some of my homework until about five or five-thirty. The other first years usually do the same but not all of us. Then those of us that are there all head down to the Great Hall for the evening meal; afterwards I meet up with Hermione and Neville from Gryffindor and we head up to the library.

There the three of us work on our homework together for an hour before packing up and taking a walk. As it still light in the evening we try to go outside if we can otherwise we just walk around exploring the castle, avoiding the third floor of course. It took me and Neville a couple of days to persuade Hermione to do this until we told her that overworking can make your work suffer.

After our walk we all head back to our common rooms to make sure we're back in time for curfew. The last couple of days Ron from Gryffindor has tried to join us in the library but all he seems to do is complain about us working and tries to get us to play chess or talk about Quidditch instead, I'm thinking of asking him to stop joining us to be honest.

I take Saturday off from school work, but all of the first year Hufflepuff's along with Hermione and Neville have agreed to meet up in the library every Sunday afternoon for a big study session together, this way if someone is proving to better in one subject than the others we can help out the ones that are struggling with that subject. Personally I'm hoping we get joined by some people from the other houses too. I hate how separated the houses are after all we are attending the same school."

Flitwick stared at Jared wide eyed, "I am impressed Jared, that is a very well thought out and excellent routine. I have no doubt that I and the other professors will be seeing some excellent work from not just you but all who attend your Sunday session.

And you are correct the separation between the houses has become quite a concern to me and the other teachers, alas everything we seem to do to try and bridge the gaps always seems to fail, hopefully you will have more success.

Now with this routine in mind I would propose that we meet every Tuesday and Thursday evening after your time with Ms Granger and Mr Longbottom and on a Sunday morning. I can speak to Professors McGonagall and Sprout as both the Deputy Headmistress and your head of house to obtain a permanent permission slip for you to be out after curfew on the two week days, as long as you have returned to your house before 10:30 to ensure you are still able to get a good night sleep I do not believe they will have a problem with this. It will also give me a chance to tell them that I am aware of your situation. Would this be acceptable to you?"

Jared considered it a moment before saying, "I'm sure if I told Hermione and Neville that I was having some extra time with you sir on Thursday's and Thursday's they won't mind me skipping our time together on these days. That way you won't need to get the permission slip."

Flitwick smiled, "It is kind of you to say that Jared but I would not want to do anything that gets in the way of the time you spend with your friends, it is time that is just as important as training."

Jared smiled back at him, "Then I'm happy to meet you as you suggested sir."

Flitwick stood and moved back around his desk, "Excellent, then I will go and speak to them now and let you go to join your friends in the Library."

Jared stood and gave a small bow to the little professor, with a hand over his heart and in a formal voice said, "Trainer Flitwick I am honoured that you have agreed to teach me and I thank you for all the time you give to me and my education."

Internally Flitwick was overjoyed to see this sign of respect, he had heard of it from his grandmother long ago when she had spoken of her own times of training when she was young, outwardly he kept his expression serious as he dredged the correct formal wording from his memory while pulling himself up as straight as he could and reply with a short bow of his head, arm also over his own heart, "Prince Jared the honour is mine to pass along any knowledge I have to give to you that will aid in giving honour to you and your family name"

With the formality done Jared relaxed and followed Flitwick out of his office where after a quick goodbye he left to grab his books from his common room before heading up to the library.

xxxx

A/N And so we are back for the next seven instalments. Given his heritage I couldn't wait to include Flitwick as another ally against Dumbledore. In the background things will start to get fun, however as this fic is about Harry/Jared and his adventures I won't be going into any detail on the background aspect that the adults are up to, but as I do have quite a few notes written down about it maybe I'll do that as a side fic once this is done.

Keep writing and have fun

V.


	16. Chapter 16 - Do I smell Conspiracy?

Disclaimer: I can honestly say that after looking at my poor bank balance I do not own any of the characters that you see and recognise here from either Harry Potter or The Labyrinth, I am just having a little fun with them all

**Chapter Sixteen – Do I smell Conspiracy? **

After saying goodbye to Jared, Flitwick made his way outside to the greenhouses; he knew that Sprout always spent her Sundays outside in the furthest Greenhouse from the castle that was permanently off limits to the students. This was her own personal greenhouse, promised to her as a part of her contract to teach and it was here she grew many of the plants she sold to potions masters, as well as some she grew for herself, not all of them being magical in nature but simply grown for the beautiful flowers they produced.

As he thought, he could hear her gentle singing from outside as he got closer. All of the glass except for the roof was frosted so prying eyes couldn't see in, he knocked on the door to the greenhouse and waited for her open it, he had heard stories of others who had barged into her organic domain only to have to spend quite a bit of time in the hospital wing, whether it was for treatment from what some of the plants had done or from some of the spells the Herbology professor herself had thrown in defence of her creations.

Pomona Sprout was, like himself, known as one of the most easy going and cheerful members of staff at the school, but as soon as anyone came close to threatening one of her plants or badgers this changed. He had never been on the receiving and of her wrath but he had heard about it to know that she could be as vicious and ferocious as any goblin warrior in a duel.

A smile broke out on her dirt smudged face when she opened the door and saw him, "Filius, this is a surprise please come in." She stepped back and opened the door wider for him. Stepping inside he couldn't help looking around curiously, he had never been inside her greenhouse before and was curious to see it. He knew if he had asked previously she would have been happy for him to see inside due to how well they both got on but he never had simply because he had not wanted to intrude on her privacy and in a school filled with teenagers privacy was a rare commodity even for the professors.

In the area at the front he saw several flowering plants in a multitude of reds, oranges and blues. To his eyes they all looked harmless, much like the plants he would see in the gardens of some of the muggleborns he would visit when they had to explain about magic to them and offer them their place at Hogwarts, but somehow he knew that thought they looked harmless this would also be the first line of defence in this private domain so kept well away from them and admired them from afar.

"Oh my Pomona these are all simply beautiful, such a shame you are restricted to only having the required plants for the curriculum on show in the other greenhouses. Or that the Headmaster is still declining you the opportunity to set up a gardening club for the students; it would be wonderful to see some of those flowers growing as well as could help bring some bright colour to the castle and the grounds."

Sprout beamed at him, a touch of sadness colouring it, "I know Filius, and I think the students would truly benefit from it as well. Learning all about the responsibility of caring for them from seedling to flower, it would do many of them some good. Now," she clapped her hands together, shaking some loose dirt of them before grabbing a damp towel from a work bench to clean them, "I doubt you are here to see my flowers, although I should mention that you are welcome to come see them any time, you should come more often."

Filius gave her a smile, "Thank you Pomona, honestly I haven't come before because I know how much you enjoy your privacy here, something we all get so rarely, but maybe I might come around a little more." His smile turned a little cheeky as he said, "Now that I know I'm welcome and won't end up in the hospital wing suffering some malady inflicted by one of your wonderful creations."

Sprout let out a loud laugh at this, joined by Flitwick. When they calmed down he carried on, "However you are correct I am not here to admire your flowers but to ask you to join me in a brief meeting with Minerva if you don't mind. I have just had an interesting meeting with one of your badgers, Prince Jared."

A look of caution paced across her face at hearing this, "I see shall I assume that he has told you something regarding his family?" Flitwick gave a serious nod of his head at this, "I must admit, knowing your own family lineage I am not surprised that he has spoken to you. Give me five minutes to pack up my tools and I will join you, feel free to have a closer look at the flowers, although stay away from the red ones, they're the ones that bite." With this she bustled away further onto the greenhouse while he remained there to wait for her.

Soon they were both heading back into the castle, heading for McGonagall's private chambers where it was known that she liked to spend her Sunday's before a cosy fire and a book, usually with a glass of wine added after the evening meal had been eaten.

They knocked and when she opened the door was surprised to see who her visitors were knowing how they both usually spent their Sunday's when they didn't have any school duties to see to. Opening the door wider though she invited them inside, "Pomona, Filius this is a surprise please come in, what can I do for you?"

"I have just had an interesting chat with Prince Jared and he suggested I let the two of you know about it." Flitwick said, McGonagall didn't look as surprised as Sprout had at his words, indicating that they take a seat in some seats in her sitting area she re-took her own seat.

"I thought he would, knowing of your family history I fully expected him to approach you. I assume this means that you would be agreeable to being an accepted person to be present with Prince Jared should the Headmaster seek him out for a meeting?"

Filius nodded as he sat down, Sprout taking the seat next to him. "Indeed I am Minerva, in fact as well as telling me for that very reason Prince Jared also sought me out for a second request."

Seeing he had spiked their curiosity he smiled and calmly said, "Perhaps we should call for some tea and I will be happy to tell you both what Prince Jared and I have agreed to."

McGonagall gave a mock scowl at her colleague while Sprout chuckled, "Filius that is quite the tease," McGonagall said, "but very well, Tizzy." A small female house-elf popped in.

"How may Tizzy be helping Deputy Mistress?" the little elf asked politely.

"Please can you bring us tea for three Tizzy." McGonagall told her, she gave a small bow before popping out.

While they waited for the tea Sprout asked, "Is that the book Aurora was talking about at breakfast a few days ago?"

McGonagall nodded, "Yes and I have to admit that it is more interesting than I had thought it would be, it has some intriguing ideas about the application of some spells I had not thought of. I would recommend it; if you want to borrow it when I am done I will be happy to lend it to you."

Sprout smiled, "I think perhaps it may be better if I buy my own copy, you know how I tend to get my books a little dirty."

McGonagall smiled in return, "Of course, Filius would you like to borrow it?"

Flitwick nodded, "Of course you know I'm always open to new ideas."

Tizzy popped back in at this point with a large tea service set for three people, some small cakes and biscuits on a little plate with it. After delivering the tea and disappearing, McGonagall quickly served them all before sitting back, "Now Filius will you tell us of your agreement with Prince Jared?"

"Of course" he began, "As you both saw this morning at breakfast, Prince Jared approached me and asked for a meeting, and naturally I thought it must be in relation to his charms work and so took him to my office. Once we were there and settled he proceeded to request an oath of secrecy from myself, an oath that allows me to talk of all this to both of you but no others.

Once I was assured that what he had to tell me would not harm any other students I quickly gave it and soon learned not only the identity of Prince Jared's father but the Kingdome that he rules."

He gave a sigh and a slight look of shame passed across his face, "I admit it was to my shame that I had not made the connection sooner. It would seem that it has been too long since I had contact with my family, more specifically my grandmother. Needless to say I was more than happy to offer him any and all help that I could give to him. It was then that he informed of his second intention for approaching me.

It would seem that now he has settled in Prince Jared has decided to re-continue his exercise regime from home as best as he can."

A look of mild surprise appeared of both of then women's faces. "Other than the Quidditch teams, I don't believe exercise is really considered by any of the students." Sprout said.

"You are correct, Pomona," McGonagall agreed, "Although between us it is something I have mentioned a few times to Albus, I am sure if we had more things that allowed the students to release their energies in some way, such as other sport activities it would greatly help them and possibly reduce the amount of trouble we have to deal with from bored students."

Sprout gave a snort of derisive laughter, "And I bet he has consistently avoided and created excuses to stop anything from being done. It is also why I keep pushing for a gardening club, again it would help teach the students more responsibility and allow them to expand some energy."

All three looked grim as they considered this for a few moments before Filius said, "I really cannot understand the way our Headmaster acts at times; he always talks of giving the students as many opportunities as possible but does not back his words up with actions. It's as though he is determined to ensure that they are ill prepared for the world they are to face."

It was in a thoughtful voice that McGonagall said, "If we can't get him to agree to any formal clubs, perhaps we could get an informal one past him. Filius you say that prince Jared has begun an exercise routine?"

"Yes, we have strayed a little from the topic but this brings us back to it nicely. He told me that he gets up at 6am and goes for a jog down to the lake; there he completes some exercises before jogging around the lake as far as the forest and returns. Once done he completes some warm down exercises before returning to his common room and preparing for the rest of the day. Then at the weekend he is including a swim in the lake, most would not do this due to the creatures in the lake however it would seem that Prince Jared has approached the Mer-people living there for friendship."

The two ladies gasped in surprise at this with McGonagall exclaiming, "The Mer-people."

Flitwick nodded, "Yes you have to remember where he has grown up and I can tell you that one of the Underground Kingdoms is of the Mer-people, as a Prince of one of the Kingdoms it would not surprise me if Prince Jared had not only made trips to it but also friends in the Mer-Kingdom and this is what led him to doing so with the clan in our lake. If he is successful then I am quite sure that there is nothing in it that will threaten him."

McGonagall frowned, "That may be true but still I am not sure I would encourage any of the other students to go swimming with him, but if we could encourage some of the other students to join him for his other exercises I think it would be good for them and the Headmaster could not really say anything as it is in their own time"

"Maybe not," Flitwick agreed, "And I will mention this to him, however I see what you mean about others joining him in the lake, and while as you say it will not be a formal club it will be a step in the right direction. Perhaps some subtle mentions in our classes about how some spells require great stamina to be able to perform them and that exercising is a good way to build it." Both of his colleagues were nodding in agreement to this and already thinking on ways to do just that. "Now exercising is not all Prince Jared is planning on continuing, but has asked me to help him in regards to his weapons training."

Once again McGonagall and Sprout found themselves gasping in surprise at his words, "Weapons?" Sprout asked, "Why would he need to learn how to use weapons?"

Flitwick was calm and matter-of-fact as he explained, "Not only is he the Heir to a Kingdom, but that Kingdom is of the Goblins, a warrior people, as such it is expected of him to be able to handle himself in combat with a variety of weapons should the Kingdom ever have need of defence. It is his duty, as it is the duty of his father and in fact all members of the royal family for any of the Kingdoms, especially the ones that belong to a warrior race."

"But he is just a child Filius." McGonagall said.

Flitwick looked at her with raised eyebrows, "I have no doubt that that child has been learning to use both daggers and a small bladed axe since he was five, it is the age all goblins begin weapons training, otherwise how can you be considered competent enough to go through warrior training when you turn thirteen which is when the instructors begin them on the far more dangerous weapons."

At the look of dismay on both faces he gave a shrug and said, "It is the way of the goblins and as their Prince is not only expected but a requirement for Prince Jared to follow these ways if he is ever to rule them and have their loyalty as he does so."

"But still" Sprout said with doubt clear in her voice, "It is not something I want the other students to think that they can do and start using weapons."

Flitwick agreed with her, "You are quite right, it would not be the right thing to teach them at this time, which is why I have suggested and Prince Jared has agreed with me that we meet every Tuesday and Thursday evening's after curfew, ensuring that he returns to his house by ten thirty and on a Sunday morning before he goes to the study group the first year Hufflepuff's along with Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom have set up. This way we can avoid any of the other students from learning what we are doing, or if they do hear of our sessions I can simply say I am giving Prince Jared some extra tutoring."

McGonagall nodded her head in thought, "I assume you want me to write a permanent permission slip for Prince Jared to be out after curfew on the weekday evenings?"

Flitwick nodded, setting his now empty tea cup down as he did so, "If you would, it was my primary reason for seeking you out to discuss this, as well as informing you that I am now aware of the situation."

McGonagall now set her own empty tea cup down and gave a questioning glance at Sprout, she also put her cup down and gave a confirming nod back at McGonagall. "Why did you not go to the Headmaster for it? Why come to me Filius?" she asked him carefully.

Filius sat back, a grave look on his face, "I thought it best to come to you Minerva because of something Prince Jared told me. It would seem that our Headmaster has tried to meddle in Prince Jared's life and caused both him and his father to distrust Albus.

I must admit over the past few years I have begun to doubt some of the things he has been doing myself and after his actions at the start of the week, actions I find myself agreeing with Prince Jared's opinion of appearing to not only support but encourage bullying by both student and staff, not to mention his decision to store the stone here and then give that ridiculous warning at the opening feast, I did not feel that he would be the best one to approach to ask for the permission slip."

McGonagall and Sprout's lips thinned in anger at the thought of the warning about the third floor Dumbledore had given; McGonagall had had quite the heated discussion with Dumbledore after the feast about it. "I've lost count of the amount of upper year students I have had to chase away from the third floor this week. It would have been better for him to simply ward the floor so no one could enter that section under the age of eighteen, that way not even the seventh years could have approached it." She said with anger tinging her tone.

"I believe all of us have lost count of the amount of students we have chased from there, especially the Weasley twins." Sprout added also angry and frustrated with it.

They sat in silence for a few moments before McGonagall stood and moved over to her desk, "I am more than happy to write you the permission slip Filius, however I also ask that you join me and Pomona for an evening drink tonight after the evening meal," She quickly wrote out the slip and walked back to them handing it to him before sitting back down, "There are some other things that we would like to discuss with you, matters that were discussed with the King of the Goblins when he was here on Monday. I think you will find them most interesting and I would like to have your input on them."

Putting the permission slip in his pocket he nodded his agreement, "Of course Minerva, as I said to Prince Jared any way that I can be of help I will be gladly, this also extends to the both of you."

Sprout gave a firm nod of her head, "Well then lets us go on about our Sunday's as normal and we can meet again this evening." She stood up, "Thank you for the tea Minerva."

The other two also stood and they made their way back to the door, "Not at all, I will see you both later." With that Sprout and Flitwick left and the three of them continued on with their Sunday before having an in-depth discussion later that evening that had Flitwick raging at one point before being shown just how cunning and devious his colleagues were, if he hadn't known better he would have thought them both Slytherin's.

xxxx

A/N Sorry everyone for such a late update, I've just started a new business and I had to dedicate nearly all day to it, it's been great and exciting but it has meant my work on checking this chapter over got seriously delayed.

Thank you all for your continued support of this and the number of favourite's and follows for this I have been getting has still been just blowing my mind so thank you all.

Keep writing and have fun

V.


	17. Chapter 17 - Unhappy Thoughts

Disclaimer: I can honestly say that after looking at my poor bank balance I do not own any of the characters that you see and recognise here from either Harry Potter or The Labyrinth, I am just having a little fun with them all

**Chapter Seventeen - Unhappy Thoughts  
**

The study group in the library was going well, not long after the Hufflepuff first years had arrived and met up with Neville and Hermione who had both been waiting for them, they were soon joined by a few of the Ravenclaw first years and a couple more of the Gryffindor first years too that had heard about what they were doing and wanted to join, they had been forced to pull two tables together to accommodate everyone.

Madame Pince had been quite annoyed when she heard one of the tables being moved and stormed over demanding to know what they were doing and ready to throw them all out. They had quickly explained that they were simply making a larger area for them all to work and study together, it had taken a few minutes of persuading but she had eventually calmed down and even waved her own wand to move the tables and chairs together for them. A final warning to make sure they kept the volume down and she left them to it.

They had quickly run around the whole group introducing themselves and saying what subject they had found the easiest so far after their first week of lessons and this had then allowed them to sit themselves accordingly so that they could help each other out as they worked through their homework assignments. Jared also included permission for them all to call him Jared and not have to keep using his title as a part of his introduction.

Unbeknown to the group for the first half an hour they had been watched, the blue eyes observing the scene had held none of their usual twinkle as Dumbledore was not happy with what he was seeing.

The boy had meant to be meek and easy to isolate with one or two friends, preferable from a family that he had great influence over namely the Weasley's, he had even managed to persuade Molly to set up a little trap at King's Cross to try and get to the boy early but that had failed when Harry hadn't used the muggle side of the station.

What he saw was a confident young man that was easily getting on with not just his housemates but those from the other houses too, although he was pleased to see there were no Slytherins in the group at the moment he didn't doubt it wouldn't be long before the boy reached out to that house too.

He was breaking all the hard work Dumbledore had done to keep the houses separate and as such making it much easier to guide the young impressionable minds of the students on to the correct paths he thought they needed to be on to be most effective in the world he was trying to shape outside of Hogwarts.

After half an hour he left the library and headed back to his office, nodding and smiling at anyone he met on the way. Once back in his office he sat behind his desk deep in thought, he needed to get Harry back into a position that gave him power over the boy, it was essential if he was going to guide him on the path to his destiny. He needed to weaken the hold the goblins had over him, then he was sure he could influence the child back under his control but how to do it.

He had tried talking to the sorting hat in his office a few times after the opening feast, demanding to know why the hat had defied him and placed Harry in Hufflepuff as well as what was in the boys head, especially about where he had been living. The hat though had simply stated that such information was protected by the magic that it was made from and as for where he had sorted Prince Jared, well that was again a part of his magic and no matter who the Headmaster was could not be interfered with. Dumbledore glanced up to where the sleeping hat sat and debated with trying to get the information he wanted from it again but chose to pass on having that fight again for now.

Minerva had been quite clear should he try to approach the lad on his own then Harry would leave and there would be no persuading him otherwise a second time, she had even intimated that he would not be the only one to leave should that happen and he needed the teachers to stay as they were. Minerva was quite good at picking up a lot of his administration work and the others had finally become perfectly moulded to how he needed them to keep the school as it was, although after Minerva's speech in regards to bullying on the evening of their first full day he thought he might need to do some subtle damage control to ensure the status quo with the staff wasn't too disrupted.

His plan to have the Weasley boy become Harry's friend and chase away all others was failing; the lad was too lazy to join their study group for long, although he still had the plan for the Weasley girl in place he was hoping to begin using next year but he needed to ensure Harry returned first.

He mused on possibly finding a way to put Harry and the Weasley boy together in some situation they would bond over, maybe allowing the ward that prevented dangerous creatures intending harm to be lowered and encouraging Quirrell to take advantage of the fact might work in having that plan work.

As for his alarm ward on the third floor keyed to Harry, so far the light on the little gadget in his office hadn't even turned amber let alone red to indicate his presence. How was he ever going to test him if he didn't even go near the corridor, perhaps the gift of his father's cloak at Christmas will change that.

If he could not approach Harry directly then he would have to use a proxy, Severus was the first choice but Minerva had been clear that if his trusted potions master went near the boy then it would have the same effect and Harry would try to leave again.

He would have to use another, Hagrid perhaps. Yes that was an excellent idea, he would get Hagrid to befriend Harry and begin feeding him stories of not just his parents but how much good he himself had done for his groundskeeper and begin to show the lad that he was the one to lead him into the light and prepare him for what he would face.

With that decided he turned his attention to the paperwork on his desk, more and more complaints were being sent regarding Severus as well as Binns. He knew the increase was due to Harry's words in the Great Hall earlier in the week, he quickly worked through them as he had for all the previous years when such complaints had been made. It happened every few years a slew of complaints were made, he would deal with them and ensure nothing changed and soon enough they would die down again.

He was unaware that this time there was a difference, not only had the students sent the complaints to the Headmaster but they were being duplicated and sent to parents with the request they be sent to the school board of governors, or in the case of some sent straight away to the governors.

Around the country concern was growing with the school governors; never before had they received such a volume of complaints, and after only the first week of the new year beginning. The fact that many of them weren't just coming from the parents but the students themselves had them all starting to consider that perhaps it was time they began investigating.

Over the years they had heard a few complaints, mainly about Potions but the Headmaster had always informed them that they were exaggerated, now with so many more they couldn't help wondering if Dumbledore was being as truthful as he should be about it.

After another week of receiving the same amount of complaints and showing no sign of diminishing they called an emergency meeting of the governors to discuss the matter.

xxxx

A/N Something I should have mentioned previously, to avoid any confusion Dumbledore still thinks of Harry as Harry Potter and not Prince Jared which is why he was referred to that way during the scene in his office. Dumbledore refuses to believe that it really is Harry's choice to be called Jared and thinks that it is only because of Jareth that Harry insist on being called Jared due to either some sense of fear or duty to the man that raised him and that if he gets him away from the King he will quickly go back to his real name.

I know this was only a very short chapter but it really was the best place for me to stop before events in the next chapter begin, again it's down to how I feel the flow of the fic needing to go.

Keep writing and have fun

V.


	18. Chapter 18 - The inevitable challenge

Disclaimer: I can honestly say that after looking at my poor bank balance I do not own any of the characters that you see and recognise here from either Harry Potter or The Labyrinth, I am just having a little fun with them all

**Chapter Eighteen – The inevitable challenge**

Things were settling into a routine that everyone seemed to be happy with, Flitwick slipped the permission slip to Jared at the next charms class he had with him and soon they started their training sessions together, which is when Jared found out just how deadly and ferocious the little man really was.

The prank Jared had planned with the twins was also pulled off, and while everyone enjoyed it and had a great laugh no one could figure out who had actually pulled it as a mystery message had appeared in the Great Hall claiming responsibility but was signed with _three_ names no one recognised, which immediately ruled out the usual suspects of the Weasley twins, it also left the staff secretly fearful that they were about to experience another era similar to the one of the infamous Marauders.

But it wasn't too long until Jared had a run in with Snape in the corridors and it caused an event that would ensure the man left him alone for good.

Jared and Justin were heading from their common room to the Great Hall to meet up with the other first years before heading to their next lesson when the dour man had come up from further in the dungeons, he saw the two of them chatting happily about flying, and even though a notice had been posted on the House notice board announcing that the expected lesson later in the week was cancelled and to be rescheduled, the first years were still excited about the thought of flying and looking forward to when it would be.

He stalked up behind them and when Jared laughed at a story Justin had been telling him about when his mum had told his father about flying on brooms for the first time, Snape sneered at him, "10 points from Hufflepuff Potter for causing a commotion in the corridors." He was about to stalk past when he was stopped by a cold voice.

"My name is Prince Jared and you will return the points to my house Mr Snape or I will report you to my head of house for improper conduct and unfair removal of points."

Snape whirled on him in fury, "How dare you speak to a professor like that you arrogant little…"

He got no further as he was interrupted by the same cold voice, "If you continue to speak to me in this manner Mr Snape I will challenge you to a duel and I will let it be known not only to the board of school governors that I have done so but to the wizarding press as well. Tell me Mr Snape would you like the wizarding world to know what a bully you are and that a child of eleven can beat you in a duel?"

Snape was raging and decided to call what he thought was a bluff by the boy, after all the brat couldn't really think he could beat a fully trained wizard a belief Snape expressed as he sneered, "Issue your duel you jumped up little brat and tell whoever you like if you think you can beat a fully trained wizard at a real duel you are sorely mistaken and it will only prove how delusional you really are."

Jared narrowed his eyes at the man realising the potions master thought he was bluffing, instead he pulled himself up straight and said "Very well Mr Snape I, Prince Jared formally challenge you to a duel unless you return the points you have taken and apologise for your behaviour."

Snape smirked at him, "I accept Potter, in the Great Hall tomorrow at noon."

Jared gave a single nod of acceptance before brushing past him not even bothering to correct him this time on yet again using the incorrect name to address him; Justin had watched the whole thing gobsmacked and quickly rushed to follow his fellow first year.

Once they were far enough away from Snape Justin finally couldn't stop himself from saying, "Bloody hell Jared."

Jared just gave him a small grin in return, "Don't worry about it Justin, I knew this was going to happen eventually with either Snape or Malfoy. Admittedly I didn't expect it so soon but I knew after last Monday morning it was going to get to this. I have to go speak to Professor Sprout will you tell the others and Professor McGonagall why I'm going to be late?"

Justin returned his smile with his own shaky one as well as a shake of his head, "Most people would be terrified of what just happened. Man, I knew you had guts after last week but geez Jared, I think I might have to be terrified for you. And sure I'll let everyone know where you are and why."

"Thanks Justin, and don't worry I've been training for duels since I was six, there is no way Snape can hurt me."

They parted and Harry went quickly to Sprouts office hoping she hadn't left for her next class yet. Knocking he was glad to hear the muffled, "Enter." Opening the door he stepped into the office.

"Excuse me Professor Sprout," he calmly said, "I need to report an incident between myself and Mr Snape."

Sprout looked up from the essay she had been marking, the smile she had on hearing his voice dying and a grim look appeared, "Prince Jared, take a seat and tell me what happened."

Jared took the seat in front of her desk and quickly told her what had occurred in the corridor. "I would like to ask you to not only inform Professor McGonagall, I am sure Mr Snape will be informing the Headmaster himself, as well as the board of school governors and Wizarding press, or provide me with the names and contact details to do so myself." He finished.

The grim look on Sprout's face had quickly become one of anger, her tone reflected this "I will tell everyone that you have requested be told. Is there anything else that you require to prepare?"

Jared shook he's head, "No thank you Professor, although I suspect that the Headmaster will try to talk to me at some point today, would you be available should he do so?"

Sprout gave a quick nod of agreement, "Of course. I suspect that it will be at lunch or the evening meal that he approaches you so I would ask that you sit as close to the head table as possible that way I can be sure to reach you as soon as I see him approach myself. If he should do it while you are in class or in the library with Ms Granger and Mr Longbottom studying this evening I want you to come straight here to my office, I will make sure I am in here in between all classes and all evening after the evening meal right up to curfew."

Jared gave her a smile and a nod of his head, "Yes professor."

"Very well, as I believe you are due to be in Transfiguration at the moment I will escort you to the class." She stood and they both walked out of the office and down to the class room, Jared made sure to thank her for her assistance along the way.

When they got there and entered McGonagall had already started the lesson, "Professor, my apologies on Prince Jared's lateness, he came to see me on an important matter that could not wait." Sprout said calmly as she walked up to the front of the class, Jared peeled off to his usual seat.

"I understand Professor, Mr Finch-Fletchley had also advised me that Prince Jared had gone to you." McGonagall replied.

Sprout quickly finished heading to the front of the class room, there she learned in and said in a voice that only McGonagall could hear, "He was confronted by Snape and Prince Jared has challenged him to a formal duel. The idiot accepted, meet me in my office after the lesson and I will explain it all to you."

McGonagall's usual stern look in class deepened and in a tight voice that concealed her anger replied in the same quiet voice, "Very well, I will see you in your office shortly Pomona."

Sprout nodded to her before leaving and heading to her own lesson.

Word quickly spread around the school about the duel between Jared and Snape, and air of anticipation filled the corridors. Tensions between Slytherin's and Hufflepuff's spiked drastically, but to the surprise of the teachers no fights broke out as they underestimated the self-control the Hufflepuff's had, especially after Sprout had quickly sent messages to the Hufflepuff prefects that they were to speak to every member of the house they could find in or between classes that they were not to lower themselves to falling for such tricks by the Slyerthin's.

As Sprout predicted, Dumbledore approached Jared at lunch. As soon as she saw him enter the hall and begin to head to the end of the Hufflepuff table she quickly made her way from her seat and down to where Jared sat.

With his grandfatherly image being projected on full force and his eyes twinkling fully Dumbledore stopped next to Jared, as he did he was annoyed to see Sprout reaching the boy at the same time, "Prince Jared I would ask that you join me in my office immediately." He smiled kindly down at the boy.

Jared raised an eyebrow at him enquiringly, "Of course Headmaster however I believe you have forgotten to invite either my head of house or the Deputy Headmistress as well."

Before Sprout could say anything, Dumbledore shot her a smile before saying, "I hardly think it necessary that we disturb your professors lunch for a brief chat in my office Prince Jared, now if you will please come with me."

Jared merely adopted a steely look as he replied with the same steel in his voice, "It was made quite clear that I can only be in your presence with one of three professors also present."

The twinkle died in Dumbledore's eyes but before he could say anything Sprout said, "He is right Headmaster, now I am happy to accompany you both now to _my_ office for a chat otherwise I must ask you to leave Prince Jared to his lunch."

Dumbledore regarded her for a moment before benignly agreeing, "Of course Pomona." With that the three of them left the hall and headed for Sprout's office.

When they got to it, Dumbledore moved and sat down in Sprouts chair behind her desk, forcing Sprout and Jared to sit in the ones for students in front of it. Sprout had frowned slightly when she saw him heading for her chair a clear attempt at a subtle power play by the Headmaster, but said nothing and quickly schooled her face in to a mask of neutrality.

"Now Jared my boy," Dumbledore began but was immediately interrupted by Jared.

"I have not given you permission to use my name in so informal and familiar a manner Headmaster and as I am neither a blood relative nor a ward of your family in any way I find it inappropriate for you to call me your 'boy'."

Dumbledore's image of being grandfatherly started to diminish, "It is merely a term of endearment for one of my favourite students."

Jared frowned at this, "If you treat all your favourite students as you have treated me then I find myself feeling sorry for them as your actions speak more of a creepy old man seeking to groom them for goodness knows what than a Headmaster looking to give them the best education possible.

Although I was also under the impression that the Headmaster was supposed to remain neutral at all times regardless of personal feeling towards one student or another and as such should not have favourites. However I do not believe that is why you wanted to talk to me."

Dumbledore was starting to struggle to keep his frustration and irritation at being spoken to in such a manner by a child from showing, managing to just keep a calm façade he said, "No I came to tell you that you must drop this silly duelling idea you have every time you perceive yourself to be insulted and that you must apologise to Professor Snape."

Jared narrowed his eyes at the old man, "The idea of a duel to protect ones honour and reputation is not silly but my right not only as a Prince and Heir to a throne but as an Heir to a Head of a Noble and Most Ancient Wizarding House, especially as I am the last living member of that House, as such if I do not defend the honour of my family then who will?"

Dumbledore managed to keep the look of triumph off his face but failed to keep it out of his eyes, "So you finally acknowledge that you are Harry Potter? At least I can begin to have some hope that you are starting to see who you truly are and where you truly belong."

Jared immediately scowled at Dumbledore and in a cold voice stated, "I have never denied acknowledgment of my birth parents or the ancestry of their families that run in my veins, I may have been born Harry Potter and have the Potter blood in my veins which means that I have a responsibility to ensuring the great House of Potter stands strong but I am also Prince Jared, Son and Heir to my father and his blood runs in my veins too and do not think for one moment that you can trick me away from the responsibilities this also gives to me.

Unless Mr Snape apologies to me for his insults, his failure to address me correctly and returns the points he unjustly took from Hufflepuff house the duel will still stand, and neither you nor even the Minister for Magic himself can stop this Headmaster." Jared stood, cold fury radiating from him, "Now if you will excuse me I have to a lesson to go to."

Dumbledore's voice was hard as he said, "Mr Potter you will remain where you are."

Jared's scowl got deeper and filled with anger but it was Sprout in a voice tight with her own anger said, "Prince Jared you may go to your lessons. Headmaster I think you and I need to have a private word."

Jared looked at his head of house and could see the anger clearly written in her body language, he gave her a single nod and short bow before leaving the office. As soon as the door shut he felt the power of a spell cover it, unknown to Jared it was a mixture of privacy, silencing and locking spell that Sprout had created herself many years ago.

Jared headed to grab his books for his afternoon lessons, it was ten minutes before Dumbledore and a flustered and angry Sprout left her office.

Only McGonagall found out what had been spoken about when Dumbledore tried to get her support in removing Sprout as the Head of Hufflepuff only to have to explain what had made him come to such a decision. Unfortunately McGonagall easily saw through the flimsy excuses he tried to give and he was forced to tell her what had actually happened.

He could have just removed her in his authority as Headmaster, but any questioning or complaint at such a move can lead to the Deputy Head and any supporting staff taking the matter to the board and having it reversed. Dumbledore wanted to make sure that McGonagall would ensure that none of the other teachers would challenge it by getting her on his side first, but that had failed.

Instead he was told quite sternly by his Deputy that she fully supported what had been said to him by her colleague and disagreed at her removal from the position and would block any attempt he made to take her from it and would even drag him before the board herself if he should try it.

She also informed him that Sprout had told her all the details of the confrontation between Jared and Snape and that she supported the go ahead of the duel unless Snape apologised, returned the points he had deducted and failure to do either would mean that she too would be making sure that all the people Jared had requested to be informed would be as well as ensuring that amble arrangements were made for spectators to attend the duel.

xxxx

A/N In my haste to get this whole year written I have to admit I just haven't found the time to think of a really good prank for Jared and the twins to pull which is why I haven't included it however once I am done writing the year I may do a one shot companion piece on what they did.

Once again thank you for the great comments I have been getting for this, I'm really glad people like my version of Flitwick.

Keep writing and have fun

V.


	19. Chapter 19 - The Duel

Disclaimer: I can honestly say that after looking at my poor bank balance I do not own any of the characters that you see and recognise here from either Harry Potter or The Labyrinth, I am just having a little fun with them all

**Chapter Nineteen – The Duel**

The following day Jared made sure to stick to his usual routine of exercises but also added in an extra half an hour to meditate and make sure that not just his human magic was easy to reach but his Fae and Goblin magic was too, it did mean he missed most of breakfast but he was able get to the Great Hall to grab a quick bite of a toasted bacon sandwich before going to his morning lessons.

Once the last morning lesson was finished he quickly put his bag in his dorm and changed out of his school robes and into some more formal duelling clothes that his father had made sure were a part of his wardrobe when it was commissioned with the family tailor.

Unlike his school robes his duelling robes were open at the front to allow greater movement but only reached to his above his ankles so as to ensure they wouldn't trip him up. The sleeves were also tighter, again to avoid getting in the way of any arm movements required be they with wand or weapons. Underneath he wore a white button down shirt with a dark blue waistcoat that had a pattern done in black sequins on it and a pair of tight black leather trousers with soft knee high boots in a pale grey. Once he was dressed he made his way to the Great Hall.

In the Great Hall Snape was standing silently next to the Headmaster where the Staff table usually stood. The four house tables had been removed and a duelling arena had been constructed by some friends Flitwick had called in the previous evening. It was a large square in the centre of the hall and was half as big as the total floor space; all around the four sides were benches in a raised seating arrangement commonly seen at a football game. The perimeter of the square had a fence a meter high but when the duel began a solid but transparent shield would activate and cover the whole arena to ensure that no stray spells could reach the audience.

Inside the arena a thin layer of sand had been put down to cover the hard stone surface and was enchanted to be spell resistant so it could not be used as a part of the duel but also to act as a softer surface, similar to a cushioned covering to ensure no critical injuries should a duellers head impact on the hard surface at any time.

Flitwick was quite pleased with the quality of the arena that had been constructed on such short notice by his friends, something that he had done as it also helped to ensure complete impartiality in regards to who would be duelling and so no claims could be made afterwards that the environment had favoured one side or the other to effect the outcome.

Snape glanced over the arena and internally was impressed at what had been produced, he was also internally fuming that the Headmaster had not been able to tell Potter to apologise in front of everyone and call off this ridiculous farce. Well if the arrogant brat wanted to be shown for the poor, pathetic attention seeker that he was, as far as he was concerned it was all the better that he be the one to do it.

He could just imagine the look of horror of James Potter's face when he proved what a liar his pathetic excuse for a son was. It was just a shame he was not here to see it or for him to rub his win in the arrogant Gryffindor's face.

As soon as the last class for the morning had finished students began to arrive and started to fill up the seats, the entire school board of governors, several Ministerial officials including Madam Bones from the DMLE and a few aurors, along with several reporters had already arrived and taken the seats in the front rows.

At noon sharp Prince Jared walked into the Great Hall, silence began to fall as he entered and everyone watched as he strode forward to where Dumbledore and Snape were standing and in a loud voice that carried so everyone could hear said, "As honour dictates I am giving you once last chance Mr Snape to apologies for your insults to me and return the points you unfairly removed from Hufflepuff."

Snape sneered at him, "I will do no such thing Potter, you should be apologising to me for your arrogant behaviour."

Jared narrowed his eyes in anger but managed to keep his voice calm as he said, "Very well then I hand control of this duel to Professor Flitwick who has consented to be our referee."

With that he turned and moved to stand next to the arena and allowed Flitwick to step forward, in a clear voice the small professor stated, "We will be using the standard duelling rules as used on the official professional duelling circuit. As Prince Jared is classed as a minor I formally offered him the chance to use the rules for the amateur duelling circuit earlier this morning and he refused confirming his voluntary willingness to use the professional rules despite the advantage that would have been given to him by the use of the amateur rules. Once the duel has been concluded I will be happy to make myself available to describe the differences.

The winner of the duel will be the first to render their opponent unable to continue duelling through either knocking them unconscious or incapacitated.

The use of any of the unforgivables will be met with immediate disqualification.

All other legal spells are allowed.

The referee's decision is final and there can be no arguing with it, should either opponent do so will meet with immediate disqualification.

May I now ask the two duellers to enter the arena."

Flitwick waved his wand and a gap appeared in the fence, both Jared and Snape entered the square arena and stood at opposite ends from each other. Flitwick moved to a raised section on one of the walls that would give him an unimpeded view of the whole duel.

He raised his wand and clearly said, "Shield activate." Everyone in the Great Hall saw a brief flash of light as the shield that surrounded the arena was raised before Flitwick called out, "Bow and begin."

Inside the arena Jared and Snape both gave a short shallow bow of the head, neither taking their eyes of the other before pulling out their wands and starting to duel.

Snape snapped off three stunners wordlessly, Jared merely stepped quickly to the side dodging all three. Snape clearly thought he could take Jared down quick and easily, he obviously underestimated the young prince.

While it was true Jared did not know very many spells that he could cast with his wand, he had been taught how to fight with both his Fae and Goblin magic, not to mention the various non-magical methods. He quickly cast a weak stunner at Snape that earned his a sneer from the older man who was clearly preparing to start casting much more formidable spells at him, but at the same time as casting the stunner Jared ran at Snape and before the Potions master could react had grabbed him by one arm and swung him around to crash into the wall of the arena.

His action managed to disorientate Snape who had not been expecting such a physical attack, he staggered slightly and turned back to face Jared, who in those few moments of distraction had raised his arms and with fingers spread, palms facing Snape snapped out in Goblin ~chains to bind~ and immediately think black chains appeared and wrapped around Snape's arms and torso.

Snape tried to wave his wand to dismiss the chains but found he was unable to sufficiently make the movement to do so. He snarled at the child in front of him, "Release me this instant."

Jared pulled himself up and calmly said, "Either remove the chains or yield that is the only way forward Mr Snape."

Snape glared at him and spat, "Never" before once again trying to remove the chains.

Jared gave a shrug before turning to Flitwick, "Referee Flitwick Mr Snape refuses to yield and yet is unable to free himself from my chains which I believe classify as him being incapacitated, as such I ask for your ruling on this."

Flitwick regarded the scene in the arena for a few moments before clearly saying, "I can see a few ways that he can break free from the chains as such it is not enough to warrant incapacitation and so is not enough to count as disqualification, the duel must continue."

Jared gave a bow of the head to him at his ruling before turning back to a still struggling Snape, Jared decided he didn't want to drag this out and so raised his wand and at point blank range cast the same weak stunner that he had sent before.

Snape tried to move out of the way but the chains had him misjudge the movement and while he did avoid the stunner went crashing to the floor and as such was unable to avoid the third and final stunner Jared fired off. Within moments Snape was unconscious and Flitwick declared him the winner.

There was cheering from nearly all of the students present, even many Slytherin's had cheered not really liking the biased sour man that had been their head of house, all of the reporters were scribbling away and the photographers that had accompanied them all jostled for the perfect position to take a picture that would give the best front page view.

The members of the school board all sat quietly talking amongst themselves. They were thinking of all the complaints they had received recently about Snape and then after seeing his behaviour before the duel were now beginning to seriously think that an emergency meeting with the Headmaster would need to be called and the Potions Master would at the very least need to be put on probation.

The Ministry employees were also muttering amongst themselves, Madam Bones merely sat there in silence with a thoughtful look on her face, her aurors were talking quietly with each other and analysing the duel and what they would have tried to do differently.

Dumbledore was internally shocked and concerned on what he had witnessed Harry do, he was sure that the eleven year old had no hope of winning against Severus, but not only had he won the match but done so in such a quick time and with a spell that he, the wise and learned wizard that he was had never heard of before nor recognised the language it was cast in, but that Harry also did it without a wand had him deeply troubled. Just what had the boy been learning during his time with the Goblin King, what Dark ways was the man teaching the child he intended to mentor and forge into his ultimate weapon?

The fact that the spell was Goblin magic did not occur to Dumbledore as he had not only never heard of wizard's other than Merlin himself being able to master the magic of other species but as he had never done so himself did not think it was possible for anyone else to be able to.

Flitwick had stepped down from his refereeing platform and re-opened the gap in the arena fence so that Jared could step out and leave the Great Hall. Ignoring all the reporters that were shouting for 'Harry Potter' to answer their questions he headed back to Hufflepuff house accompanied by many members of his house congratulating him; Flitwick quickly stepped in the arena and after getting rid of the chains, revived Snape.

As soon as he was awake Snape snarled at his colleague, "Where is the cheating brat?"

Flitwick frowned at him as he had recognised not only that the magic Jared used was Goblin magic but well within the duelling rules and there was nothing to state that magic of other races was not allowed the rules only stated that all legal spells could be used and as such Jared had not cheated by using it, "Severus, Prince Jared won the duel fairly."

Snape's rage was clear to see as he pulled himself up off the floor, "Impossible the brat must have cheated there is no way he could have performed wandless magic. I demand you disqualify him immediately for cheating by having another casting for him and name me the winner." Clearly Snape did not recognise that Jared had used Goblin magic.

Flitwick's own anger surged forward, "You will be silent Severus, I cast the shield around the arena myself and had it verified by independent judges that no one could have cast magic through it from either side. I have made my judgement and declared Prince Jared the winner."

A flicker of surprise flashed across Snape's face, Flitwick had never spoken to him in such a manner before but he soon replaced it with a sneer, "Than you are as much a fool as he is to be taken in by him."

Flitwick glared at him, "Severus Snape I have allowed you to be excused for a great many things over the years but no more. I have been a duelling champion several times throughout my life; you have never even entered the circuit once as such you have no qualifications on being a referee for a duel.

I have also passed several courses on teaching to all year ages, you have never shown an adequate qualification of holding a teaching post for any age and I have passed several courses on child welfare yet you have never shown adequate clearance to be in such close proximity to children on a daily basis, unless either you or the Headmaster can show me such qualifications I will partitioning the school board of governors once a week every week until you are removed from your positions within Hogwarts as both Potions Professor and Head of Slytherin House beginning today as they are present."

He turned on his heel and marched over to the Headmaster and spat at the man, "Never have I been so insulted in a professional manner as I have today, if you do not take action immediately I will also begin partitioning the school governors to review your judgement on the placement of adequate teachers within this school."

Before Dumbledore could say anything further or Flitwick could take any action Madam Longbottom stepped down from the seats and moved closer to them both, "You have no need to make any partition to the board Professor Flitwick, after numerous complaints that have been received by both parents and the students themselves over the past two weeks along with today's spectacle we the school board of governors have already made the decision to hold a meeting with the Headmaster in one weeks' time where he will need to answer to us why nothing has been adequately done previously as well as account for several other matters we have been hearing about that has caused us all many concerns."

Flitwick gave a short bow to the older woman that had as yet not taken her stern gaze from Dumbledore, "I thank you Madam Longbottom." With that he turned and as promised move to speak to the reporters and answer their questions on the various rules and differences about duels. He pointedly ignored any specific questions about the magic Jared had used to win only stating that it was within the rules and no cheating had occurred.

McGonagall stepped up next to Dumbledore and Madam Longbottom and in a quiet firm voice said to them both, "Madam Longbottom I wish for to convey to the board that I, in my position as Deputy Headmistress support and second all that Professor Flitwick has said today." Now she looked directly at Dumbledore as she said, "Too long have you allowed your pet bully to get away with things that we, as protectors and guiders of the young minds entrusted to us should have stopped long ago but no more Albus, no more." With this she then moved away and started to help Flitwick address some of the questions that were being shouted by the reporters.

Dumbledore was dismayed at the recent turn of events, though he was careful not to show it in front of the reporters, school governors or Ministry employees, instead he kept his expression calm and neutral as he responded, "I hardly see such a formality as an emergency meeting being necessary over a little disagreement Augusta, however I will bow to the board and happily meet with you all in a weeks' time."

Madam Longbottom regarded him with a grim look, "Not only has one of your professors denounced his colleague but your own deputy has expressed concerns on what you call a 'little disagreement'. I think I may have to advise the other governors that we should also give serious consideration on if you are still fit to be the Headmaster."

Before Dumbledore could say anything to this Madam Longbottom turned and moved back to where the other Governors were still seated, once she reached them they all stood as one and left together, not even Lucius Malfoy used the opportunity to say anything to the reporters.

It took a few hours for them to settle the reporters down and after answering their questions as best as they could without giving any more negative views of the school sent them all of their way.

Dumbledore had sent Snape to his office to wait for him while he helped McGonagall and Flitwick deal with the reporters. Soon the Great Hall was returned to its usual format and a late lunch was quickly put on for the students before the afternoon lessons could begin.

Sprout had quickly made her way to Hufflepuff house during it all to ensure that Jared was ok and not suffering any linger issues over what had happened, after requesting a house elf to bring them some sandwiches and drinks up to his dorm room she sat and had a quite talk with him in private.

Once she was satisfied that he was ok and happy to go on with his afternoon lessons she made sure to stress to him that if he felt the need to talk any more or even just wanted some quite time away from everyone than her office would be available to him. He thanked her for the offer, privately pleased and happy to see how much she cared for him and assured her that it was unnecessary as he had received training on how to handle such things since he was very young, with that he headed for his afternoon classes.

xxxx

A/N So Snape learns his lesson, although he wasn't going to win this anyway after all as someone said in a review no matter what the outcome it was negative press for the school and Snape because here was one of the teachers willing to fight and humiliate an eleven year old child in public for his own ego! That fact that he then lost just shows how incompetent he is.

I hope you all enjoyed the duel, I could have dragged it out but honestly it didn't really fit as a part of Harry/Jared's character and I'm not very good at writing them.

Again I should also have mentioned this earlier but like Dumbledore Snape refuses to see Harry/Jared in any other way than as Harry Potter not just because it makes him easier to see him as the child of his hated nemesis but it's also easier to hate him too which has been determined to do not matter what since he heard he was the possible child of the prophecy and the one Voldemort chose to go after because then he can blame Harry/Jared for Lily's death as well as James Potter instead of facing the truth and that he was blame for giving the first part of the prophecy to Voldemort.

Keep writing and have fun

V.


	20. Chapter 20 - Aggravation annoyance relax

Disclaimer: I can honestly say that after looking at my poor bank balance I do not own any of the characters that you see and recognise here from either Harry Potter or The Labyrinth, I am just having a little fun with them all

**Chapter Twenty – Aggravation, annoyance and relax**

Once he got up to his office, Dumbledore found Snape pacing in front of his desk, anger and aggravation clear in his sharp short stride, indicating the man to sit in the chair in front of his desk as he moved to his own chair behind the desk Dumbledore said, "Severus, I find myself wishing that you had shown a little restraint down in the Great Hall."

Snape sat as he sneered, "I will not pander to fools Headmaster, especially ones that have allowed themselves to be ensnared in the lies and delusions of an arrogant brat such as Potter."

Dumbledore regarded him over the edge of his half-moon glasses, "Be that as it may Severus making such comments in front of school board of governors and several members of the press was not wise. As it is I will now have to attend a meeting with the governors next week to ensure your continued employment here."

Severus frowned at hearing this, "You have had no problems in the past in stopping them from interfering why should now be any different?"

Dumbledore regarded him seriously, "In the past the complaints being made against you were not started by the Boy-Who-Lived," Severus snorted at this and Dumbledore raised his hand to stop any comments from him, "You know how the rest of the wizarding world views him my boy, it is not something to be dismissed so easily. Now I am sure I will be able to get them to relent and only put you on probation for a short while, however while you are it will mean that you will have to be fairer in your lessons towards the other houses, no more insults directed at specific individuals. You can no longer teach by simply putting the potion on the board and leaving them to it and I would advise not going near Harry Potter at all. If you do run into him, no matter what Severus you must ignore him and say or do nothing to him, as far as you are concerned the child does not exist."

Snape looked at the old man in shock, "You're going to give the brat free reign to run all over the school as though he owns it? And why should I change how I teach, they are all too stupid to comprehend and understand anything that I tell them about the art of potions, and it is for their own good that I am harsh otherwise they would all end up in the hospital wing from all the accidents the dunderheads would cause?"

Dumbledore continued to regard him with the same serious expression, "Now Severus just because I have asked you to stay away from Mr Potter does not mean I am giving him run of the school. And I am only asking that you temper some of your comments in class and perhaps explain what stages of a potion are dangerous to reduce the chance of accidents. If you do not I fear I will be unable to protect you and the school board of governors will insist on your dismissal and you know as well as I the dangers that await you outside this school and how they will affect your ability to obtain another job."

Severus glared at him before grudgingly agreeing to do as the Headmaster suggested in his lessons. With his agreement Dumbledore dismissed his Potions Master and began considering if he should use and of his hard earned favours for the upcoming meeting and if so which favours he should call in to ensure the school board could not remove him from his position as Headmaster.

xxxx

Jared went to his afternoon lessons, everywhere he went he was being congratulated and waves and smiles were being thrown at him from students across all the houses, although the Slytherin's were a lot more subtle with theirs.

It continued when he met with Neville and Hermione in the library, they had changed their routine so that every Tuesday and Thursday they would now meet before the evening meal now instead of after, Jared had said it was because he liked to spend the time concentrating on some extra study of his own in relation to his role as a prince.

Hermione had been eager to try and help him with the extra study but he had calmly explained that as it was connected to his duties as a prince he was forbidden by his lord and king to reveal it to her and have her help with it. She had been quite put out by this at first and even tried to give him the silent treatment for a day or two but soon got over her disappointment when Neville talked to her one night in their common room about her behaviour and made her realise that Jared wasn't keeping it from her to be mean but because he had no choice. Since making friends with Jared Neville's confidence in himself had really shot up, combined with his Gryffindor courage and he was already starting to show the man he would one day become.

Unfortunately Ron Weasley had decided to join them today and it was due to Ron that they ended up getting thrown out of the library much to the annoyance of the other three.

"Jared mate," Ron exclaimed as soon as he saw him, "You were bloody brilliant in that duel."

Jared gave him a tight smile, "Thank you Mr Weasley, although I do not believe I have given you permission to address me so informally also I must ask you to keep your voice down otherwise Madam Pince will throw us out and I really want to go over our Herbology essay."

Ron just waved careless at his words and in the same loud voice, "Oh come on mate after kicking Snape's arse like that we should be celebrating not studying."

As predicted Madam Pince came bustling over, "What is all the noise going on over here? If you cannot be quiet you must leave."

Jared gave her a short bow from where he was sitting, "Our apologies Madam we will be quiet."

Hermione and Neville nodded in agreement and after giving them one last glare walked away back to her desk.

"Now," Jared said pulling his homework out, "Neville I know there were a few properties for Devil's Snare that we need to list but I'm not sure if I got them all can you have a look over this for me and see?"

Before Neville could reply Ron spoke again, still in his loud voice, "You're not serious Jared, we should be thinking of a way to celebrate not study, come on this is just boring."

Madam Pince was on them in an instant, "That is it out all of you. I will not tolerate such noise in my library."

Jared, Hermione and Neville were going to protest but one look at the grim expression on her face stopped them and they quickly grabbed all of their things and left.

Outside the library Ron happily said, "Now that we're out of there how about we get the twins to sneak us into the kitchens to get a celebratory feast?"

Jared rounded on him angrily, "Do you do all your thinking with your stomach? We had no interest in celebrating something that not only was no great deed but something that a student shouldn't have even been pushed into but due to the adults in charge failing to protect those under their care I was. Also yet again I find myself telling you I have not given you permission to address me so informally. Now please go away so that those of us who have an interest in getting good grades can go and find somewhere to work now that you have ensured the library is inaccessible to us tonight."

Ron flushed red, "Hey that's no way to talk to your best friend."

Jared blinked in surprise before bursting out laughing at his ridiculous statement, even Hermione and Neville were chuckling in disbelief and it was Neville that said, "Mr Weasley you hardly come near us unless you need help to get the homework you always leave until last minute done. I also think I speak for all us when I say we find you irritating to be around and nauseating to be near when food is involved because of your horrible manners."

Hermione then contributed, "A best friend is someone who supports and helps no matter what their views on a subject are, a friend is also willing to listen to an opposing point of view in a discussion. A friend does not try to push the other into doing something they don't want to do."

Jared finished for them, "A friend also doesn't assume he can take liberties of that friend, especially when they have earned no right to unlike many others around them. In short Ronald Weasley the three of us do not even class you as a friend let alone a best friend, you are only just an acquaintance with us and that is only because you are in the same House as Hermione ad Neville and you have insisted on coming with them to the library occasionally."

Ron was gaping at them all before his to temper got the better of him, "Fine your all just a bunch of swotty pathetic know-it-all's, I didn't even want to be friends with you I only tried because I was told how hopeless you would be without help seeing as you were raised by muggles."

Jared narrowed his eyes at the red head, they didn't see that more and more students had been gathering at the sound of the arguments in the surrounding corridors, "Mr Weasley, where I come from that is an offensive and racist term, if you must refer to people that have no magic you should call them non-magical's and I would thank you to remember that next time you mention them in front of me or someone that comes from a non-magical background such as Ms Granger does."

Ron looked baffled now, "What? Muggle isn't a racist term."

Hermione was glaring at him now, "Many years ago when non-magical people feared those with magic they called them devil's spawn and demons, maybe that's what I should start calling all magical people."

Several people from non-magical backgrounds snorted at her comment, Ron just rolled his eyes at her, "That's not name calling that's just silly superstition from stupid muggles that didn't know better."

Ron didn't see the sudden glares he was getting from all the Non-magical born students that were watching, as well as the disgusted looks from the magical born students, Jared noticed but didn't say anything allowing Hermione to continue the argument as she said "Well then I guess you won't mind me calling you it then Demon. Now as Jared told please leave us alone Demon as we want to work on our homework and actually get decent grades in our lessons." before pushing past him and heading off down the corridor, Jared and Neville followed her while around them others began to disperse and discuss if the word muggle was truly racist.

xxxx

Later during the evening meal the discussion on if the term muggle was racist was still going on at some tables but had now grown to include other terms such as squib, muggle-born and half-blood as well as many still talking about the duel at lunch.

Jared was sat with his fellow Hufflepuff first years, earlier after the duel when they had been heading back to the common room Jared had made it clear he hadn't enjoyed the duel and was quite disappointed that it had even come to that for him, a student having to do something about the bullying by Mr Snape instead of the adults taking care of it.

With that in mind the others knowing how Jared felt about the duel were doing as much as they could to distract him from the ongoing discussions including the new one he had sparked about offensive terms by keeping their chatting to lighter topics.

It was during dessert that Hedwig flew in and landed next to Jared with a letter tied to her leg, retrieving it he passed some of the pastry from his slice of treacle tart to her to nibble on.

"Who's the letter from Jared?" Ernie asked around the bite of the slice of apple pie and custard he had.

Quickly scanning the short contents he gave a small smile, "It's from the groundkeeper Hagrid, apparently he used to know my parents and wants to have tea Friday after classes to tell me about them, he has said I can bring any friends I want to with me too."

Susan had just finished her own slice of treacle tart as she said, "I like Hagrid, he is always kind whenever I see him, and my aunt has told me that he used to help her learn more about the creatures on the grounds here when she was a student, she loves animals and has always had a keen interest in them before she joined law enforcement."

"He always seems kind of scary to me, he's just so big." Megan muttered while looking down at her serving of fruit salad, her non-magical mother was quite strict on sweet desserts preferring her daughter to associate fruit or yogurt as dessert and sweet things as special treats.

Jared shrugged his shoulders, "I can understand that, you don't see many people in the non-magical world as big as Hagrid but I'm used to people like that at home, don't worry Meg you don't have to go." He flashed her a smile which she shyly returned.

"Do you mind if I come with you Jared and if I bring Dean from Gryffindor with us?" Justin asked him.

Jared gave another shrug, "Sure Justin although I didn't know you and Dean wanted to learn about my parents or is it as Sue said and you have an interest in animals?."

Just gave him a sheepish smile, "Actually Dean and I have been talking about starting a football game recently," he saw the slightly confused look from of the magically raised children so added, "a sport from the non-magical world and I wanted to ask Hagrid if he would mind us using the field next to his hut for it, that way he can supervise us if any of the teachers get antsy about it."

Jared gave a laugh at this, "Are you sure you're not meant to be in Slytherin, that quite sneaky using my invite for tea like that?" all of the others laughed with him, "Sure you and Dean can come. In fact I think the sound of the football game sounds like a great idea, I've been doing my own exercise routine in the mornings but it would be nice to do something with others."

The girls blinked in surprise, the boys were used to seeing Jared coming in from his morning routine as they were starting to wake and get up. "You do an exercise routine in the mornings?" Hannah asked.

Ernie rolled his eyes at them, "He gets up at stupid o'clock to go running around the lake"

The boys, including Jared all laughed at this having talked about his early morning start several times, at the moment though none of the other boys were quite willing to give up their warm beds by a whole extra hour just yet.

Jared told the girls what his morning ritual was, to the surprise of the boys they all looked thoughtful and then Susan said, "This is actually something the three of us having been talking about. I usually do some kind of exercise routine with my aunt at home and I was thinking of starting one here. If we get some appropriate clothes sent to us would you mind us joining you in the mornings?"

Jared gave them a wide smile, "Not at all, like I said I'm usually heading out at 6am so we can just meet in the common room at that time and then all head down together."

The girls all gave nods of agreement and said they would owl their parents to send them the clothes to exercise in while the boys told them they were all mental.

With the evening meal over with Jared said goodbye to his house mates and after a quick detour to his dorm to grab his bag headed up to the seventh floor where he entered the comfortable office he had found and spoken to the twins in and settled himself down to carry on his studies in areas that he would have been working on Underground. His father had recently sent him some books on the areas of politics and sword fighting that he expected Jared to have memorised by his return at Christmas.

After a couple of hours studying he then packed up and made his way Flitwick's office where he would then spend the next couple of hours going through weapons training with the cheerful professor.

xxxx

A/N And so another day is done, I will start to put small time jumps in from now, it won't be going day by day all the time, otherwise things would get pretty boring and this would end up with hundreds of chapters, but don't worry they won't be huge time jumps just a few weeks or so.

Keep writing and have fun

V.


	21. Chapter 21 - Tea and flying

Disclaimer: I can honestly say that after looking at my poor bank balance I do not own any of the characters that you see and recognise here from either Harry Potter or The Labyrinth, I am just having a little fun with them all

**Chapter Twenty One –Tea and flying**

Friday afternoon, once classes had finished, saw six first year boys, four Hufflepuff's and two Gryffindor's heading for Hagrid's hut, Susan had decided not to join them choosing to work on her potions assignment instead as it was all she had let to finish and wanted it done.

When they got there Jared knocked and they heard a frantic scrabbling from inside and several booming barks that made all six of them take a couple of steps back and begin eyeing the door warily.

From inside they heard Hagrid's voice, "Back Fang – Back." Finally the door opened a crack and they saw him peering out, spotting the small group of first years he broke out into a big grin and said, "Hang on." Before closing the door and they heard more, "Back fang, G'back you daft hound."

Eventually the door opened fully and Hagrid stepped outside to greet them, "Hello, what are you lot up to then?"

Jared stepped forward with a big smile, "Hello Mr Hagrid, I'm sorry for not replying to your letter from the other day but I hope the offer for tea is still open?"

Hagrid's smile got even wider, "Course it is Prince Jared course it is, although I admit I didn't quite expect so many of you and me house isn't that big." He glanced up at the clear sky, "Still as it's nice out if you boys don't mind helping me pull a few things out we can sit outside and enjoy the fine weather?"

They all quickly agreed and while Hagrid made the tea and pulled out some of his rock cakes the boys all worked together to drag one of Hagrid's chairs outside for him along with some rugs and pillows for them to sit on. They also pulled out a small table Hagrid had told them to, to hold the tea and rock cakes.

While they were doing this Jared had had to pick up a pile of Daily Prophet newspapers off the table and move them to the main table in the hut, the top copy caught his eye as the headline declared '_Gringotts break-in latest'_

Jared remembered vaguely his father mentioning during dinner the day after his birthday that there had been a break-in at the bank the day before on his actual birthday. He had never heard any more about it and as it was bank business had not really cared about it too much, his father had told him that it was after he had finished his education for his human magic that he would begin instructing him in matters to do with the bank.

Outside they were soon all settled with cups of tea and the kids quickly found the rock cakes to be a bit hard for them and were all trying to think of a polite way to avoid eating them, Hagrid watched them try to eat them and then try to be polite when they couldn't, he had laughed before admitting that they were made to his own special recipe that only a half- or full giant would be able to chew but he liked to give them to students to see what they would do, a small prank of his own really.

After they had all laughed about it and Hagrid had nipped back inside to fetch a tin of biscuits he kept that could be eaten by students, Hagrid asked them how they were all getting on with their lessons.

They all told him what their favourite lesson was and how envious they were of Jared to not have to suffer through Potions with Snape, the one lesson they all agreed was the worst. Hagrid tried to defend the bitter man by telling them that the Potions Master had to be strict in the lessons to make sure students didn't mess around and cause accidents but they could tell his heart wasn't really in it.

As the topic started to drift Dean decided to ask the big man about the reason he had joined them on the visit, "Hagrid, you know I have a non-magical parent," Since Jared's outburst at Ron, all of the other first years had decided to try and avoid saying muggle and half-blood, "so I have also grown up knowing about the non-magical world and one of the things I've always enjoyed is a non-magical game called football and I've been talking about it with some others and we were hoping that you would let us use the field next to your hut to play a game." He gave the big man a hopeful look.

Hagrid sat and thought about it, "Well what exactly would be involved?" he asked.

Both Dean and Justin began explaining the basic points of the game and that all it would need is the use of the field for a short time and a ball that one of them would have one of their parents send to them, in true tradition of kids across the world they would use coats and bags to mark the goals. Hagrid asked a few more questions but was soon agreeing to letting them use the field and watching over them as well admitting his own curiosity at the sound of it.

They spent the next hour sitting and chatting with Hagrid about all different subjects, Jared got to hear a couple of stories about his parents, but with the range of topics discussed they all found something to be interested about and led to them all being happy to agree to visit Hagrid on a regular basis, most likely on a Friday afternoon and not just when they would see him when having a kick around which they hoped to arrange for a Saturday afternoon.

xxxx

On Sunday evening a notice went up on the notice board in the common room telling all the first years that they would finally be having their first flying lesson. It had been delayed to the third week of term instead of the end of the second week due to the accident that had occurred during the Gryffindor and Slytherin flying lesson with Neville Longbottom and Madam Hooch had instead all the school brooms be given a thorough examination to ensure no future accidents were possible. Ideally she wanted them replaced but was once again told by Dumbledore that there was no room in the budget for it.

Jared had visited Neville during his brief stay for one afternoon in the hospital wing and heard how the broom had sent the boy flying straight up and that he had then lost his grip and slipped off to go careening back to the ground, which had resulted in Neville's broken wrist.

While Madam Pomfrey had healed his wrist easily enough she had warned him not to put too much pressure on it for the next couple of days, as such Jared had helped him with his homework assignments. After explain what they was doing, Madam Pomfrey had even supplied a note to Neville explaining why some of his assignments were in Jared's handwriting and not his own to make sure they teachers didn't think he was cheating.

They had also heard about what had happened after Madam Hooch had taken Neville to the hospital wing, how there had been some sort of shouting match between Malfoy and Weasley about a remembrall of Neville's and that it had resulted in them both flying off up in to the air only to be caught by McGonagall and they had both lost thirty points for their houses and had two nights detention with her.

Neville hadn't been too upset about the loss of the remembrall itself but what it represented, he had been worried about what his gran would say when he told her that it was gone, apparently it wasn't that often the stern witch bought him presents that weren't for his birthday or Christmas. Jared had offered to owl order a new one for him, that way she would never know it had gone as he could pretend that it was the same one. Neville had thanked him for the idea but said that he hated the thought of lying to his gran so even if they did do that he would still feel obligated to tell her the truth.

Jared had simply smiled at his friend and said he understood, he thought about it and probably would have done the same thing if the gift had come from Sarah, his father would have been a bit different as he loved trying to see if he could get away with doing things like that with him all the time.

Jared and the other boys were excited to finally be getting to fly. It was the first lesson of the day and they all walked down the lawn to the area designated for the lesson together. The Ravenclaw's joined them and Madam Hooch appeared, "Stand next to a broom." She instructed them and once they were all sorted stood at the head of the double line they had formed and said clearly, "Hold your hand over the broom and in a firm clear voice say, 'UP'"

They all looked down at their brooms and a chorus of 'UP' was heard from all of them. Jared's broom immediately leaped up to meet his waiting hand, glancing around he saw about half the class had done it on the first call. Next to him Megan was still trying with hers, he could hear a slight tremor in her voice so he leaned a little closer and said, "Think of it like a horse, if you show even the smallest bit of fear it won't think of you as in command. You have to be firm and show it that you are in control."

She glanced at him with a grateful smile and after a deep breath said in a firmer voice, "UP" and the broom finally rose to meet her grasp and Megan gave him an even bigger smile of thanks. Around them a few others that had heard his words were quickly making sure that they hid all fear and were getting better results. Madam Hooch had also heard and was quite pleased to see the reaction from Jared's fellow students.

Once everyone had their brooms in their hands she began making her way down the lines showing them the correct way to hold the broom. After everyone was checked she walked back to the head of the line and said, "Now when I blow my whistle you will all kick off from the ground with a firm but light kick, as I will show you in a moment, ensure you keep your broomstick as straight as possible to hover in place for a few moments before angling it down very slightly to bring you back down to the ground."

After making sure she had all of their attention she picked up her own broom and showed them exactly what she wanted them to do. Once she was back on the ground she picked up her whistle from where it was hanging around her neck and gave a short sharp blast.

They all gave the small jump kick she had shown them and Jared was delighted with the sudden free feeling he got as his broom took him up a meter in the area. He found it easy to hover in place before returning to the ground as he was told.

He had always loved going flying with the Great Ancestor Dragon whenever he visited the High Lord but to be able to fly on his own, to not have to rely on another to make all of the decisions felt wonderful.

Looking around he saw Madam Hooch catch his eye and give him an approving nod before turning back to the student she was next to that was having a problem. Looking around himself he saw his friends were having no problem but a Ravenclaw opposite him seemed to be struggling to keep her broom stick straight and was bobbing up and down. Jared could see immediately the problem was because the girl had his hands just a bit too close together, quickly stepping over and he quietly said up to them, "Move your hands a little further apart and you might find it easier to keep steady."

They blinked down at him in surprise before quickly looking back at their bobbing broom and very carefully began to inch their hands a little further apart, after a minute they were able to get a steady hover and then returned to the ground. The girl gave him a grateful smile and said, "Thank you Prince Jared, I'm Lisa. I didn't realise it would be so hard to control a broom."

Jared gave a small shrug and returned her smile, "Your welcome and like I said to my friend Meg, think of it like a horse or some other animal you need to control. You have to show it who is boss in a clear firm way; if you keep your hands too close together or too tight then you can't give clear signals so it won't know what you want."

Lisa nodded in acknowledgment of his comment and said, "I'll keep that in mind."

Jared gave her a nod back and moved back to his own positon, again a few of the other students as well as Madam Hooch had heard what he said and the rate of progress increased quite quickly, far quicker than Madam Hooch had ever seen for a class.

Once they had all learned the basic movements on how to control a broom, Madam Hooch then let them take it in turns of two's and three's to have a little fun flying around the part of the lawn they were on. It quickly became apparent to her that Jared was a natural not only at flying but helping others as well.

He had some fun doing twists and turns on his own broom before he was hovering next to the others flying with them and helping them out do some of the same twists and turns that they were struggling with.

Eventually they were all back on the ground and the brooms were placed in a neat pile next to her and she was dismissing them all back to the castle, as they began to leave she called out, "Prince Jared if you would wait a moment."

Jared gave a quick nod and waved to the other Hufflepuffs to continue on without him and headed over to the flying instructor. "Prince Jared," she began, "I have to say that I was impressed with your behaviour in class today. Not only can I see that you are a natural at flying but you were very good at helping the other students. 20 points to Hufflepuff and I hope that you intend to try out for the Hufflepuff team next year as it would be a shame to waste such talent."

Jared gave her a huge smile, "Thank you professor, I don't really know anything about Quidditch so I couldn't tell you if I want to try out for the team but maybe after watching the matches this year I will think about it."

She gave a firm nod, "See that you do, now go on I don't want to keep you from lunch."

Jared gave a short bow of his head to her before running off across the lawn to catch up with his friends who were all delighted to hear that he had earned the house twenty points.

xxxx

A/N Ok so some people might be upset that I won't be having Harry/Jared join the Hufflepuff team this year, but honestly with all his training I think he has enough to do. Also I always suspected that Harry joining the team in the books was just another way for Dumbledore to show favouritism and make him look up to the Headmaster more so it adds another layer of manipulation to Harry's life, after all McGonagall must have had to get his permission to allow a first year onto the team.

This is also the seventh instalment and so it's time for another weeks break for me.

Keep writing and have fun

V.


	22. Chapter 22 - Meeting

Disclaimer: I can honestly say that after looking at my poor bank balance I do not own any of the characters that you see and recognise here from either Harry Potter or The Labyrinth, I am just having a little fun with them all

**Chapter Twenty Two - Meeting**

On Wednesday of the third week into the term, after the evening meal had been served a small group of people walked in through the main entrance and were met by Dumbledore and McGonagall before they made their way to a conference room that was on the second floor near to the Headmasters office. They were the school board of governors and they were here for the meeting that would determine if Snape and Binns would continue to teach, even Dumbledore's position was starting to look shaky.

The press had been reporting for a few days now about the duel that had happened, how Snape had lost and the comments that all of the reporters had heard Flitwick declare afterwards. Needless to say it had been quite a bit of negative publicity for the school and had many parents questioning just what was going on at the place they sent their children for nine months of the year. Questions the governors had been inundated with since the papers had reported Madam Longbottom's words of an emergency meeting being ordered. They wanted answers and they wanted the governors they had elected to get them.

They took seats in the conference room and the house elves served them all tea with small plates of biscuits dotted around the table within easy reach. Dumbledore and McGonagall joined them and took the two remaining seats, tea being served to them both.

With everyone settled Madam Longbottom began the meeting, "Ladies and gentleman we are here today to discuss the matter of Potions Master Severus Snape, Professor Cuthbert Binns and the potential matter of Albus Dumbledore, as senior member of this board, I Augusta Longbottom will be chairing this meeting, ministry employee Wilkie Twycross from the Department of Education will be taking the minutes today on behalf of the department."

Wilkie gave a brief nod at them all before returning his attention to the dicta-quill and parchment in front of him.

Madam Longbottom gave a signal nod back at him, "Now in the past two and a half weeks, since the start of the new year we the board have received numerous complaints from both parents and students regarding Severus Snape as the Potions professor and Cuthbert Binns as the History of Magic professor. Headmaster Dumbledore what do you have to say to this increased level of complaints regarding two members of your staff?"

Dumbledore gave them all one of his benevolent smiles, "Madam, members of the school board, I do believe that this is something that has been greatly exaggerated by children merely acting out as they reach the age of rebellion. Potions is a subject that requires a teacher be stricter than the other subjects and so often becomes the one the students the target the most.

In regards to History, the children often do not see the point of learning what has gone on before, they only see the now as important and so try to do all they can to avoid it. They often believe that looking back could have no impact on what happens now and that they know better than those of us that are older and wiser."

"These are the same platitudes you have given us for the past eleven years, we have allowed you to persuade us of its truth as previously the complaints have numbered less than ten, now they number in the hundreds, this is not the act of some rebellious students but an outcry for help and we can ignore it no more. If you are so blind to this perhaps we should instead move to the matter of how capable you are as headmaster immediately." Amanda Bobbin's said angrily.

Madam Longbottom raised her hand to calm her colleague, "Now Amanda, I understand your anger but we have already decided before this meeting began that we must address the matter of Severus Snape and Cuthbert Binns first and foremost. Your comments have been noted headmaster; does anyone else wish to say anything in the matter regarding Severus Snape and Cuthbert Binns?"

Lucius Malfoy raised his hand and Augusta gave a nod of acknowledgment, "Mr Malfoy, what have you to say?"

Malfoy inclined his own head at her, internally he was irritated that she had not called him Lord Malfoy, something even the minister had started to do recently, "Madam Longbottom, I cannot speak in regards to Cuthbert Binns, I too believe he should be moved on and replaced, however I feel I can and must speak out on the matter of Severus Snape.

During my days as a student of this fine establishment, I remember when Severus Snape arrived as a first year, I immediately saw the great potential within in him and sought to take him under my wing and mentor the young mind, even for just the one year we shared at Hogwarts.

It was during that year that I came to learn that such an intelligent, possibly even genius mind had come from a harsh background that had failed to nurture it in the way it deserved and I know this left a deep scar on him. And yet I also knew and saw that there was a strong person inside that would make an excellent role model, a fact that led me to name him Godfather to my own son and Heir.

Yes potions is a subject that requires strict monitoring of behaviour to avoid any accidents that can cause serious injury to the students and yet still ensure that should any accidents occur the students are aware what to do to reduce the amount of injuries.

Yes we have received some complaints, but would you rather have a strict teacher the students do not like or injured students?"

Dumbledore sat and listened to what was said, internally he was angry that it was Lucius Malfoy that was getting him his way instead of the board bowing to his own direct influence and power and doing as it was told, to ignore the complaints. Still at long as it got the result he needed he could give the man this one, after all winning a battle did not mean winning the war, and he knew he was at war with Malfoy when it came to gaining political influence and power.

Some of the board members were frowning at Malfoy's words and Kennilworthy Whisp said, "I would hardly call bullying the actions of a role model."

Lucius raised an elegant eyebrow at him and in a condescending tone said, "I hardly see the actions of a teacher being strict with students that act out in class as those of a bully. Or would you have us go easy on the students in a class where a mistake can cause serious injuries."

Kennilworthy glared at him, "Belittling the students, making snide and insulting comments about their dead relatives, showing clear favouritism for one house while being biased in the extreme to the other three and not just in the matter of awarding or deducting points but in giving grades as well affecting their future careers, these are not the actions of a strict teacher but a bully."

Bertram Aubrey gave a nod and in a voice tight with anger said, "We have all reviewed the point's book and have clearly seen some of the ridiculous reasons Severus Snape has given for taking points away, clothing being too shabby, hair not brushed adequately, breathing too loudly. Tell me Lucius how can taking points for breathing be considered the actions of a role model and not a bully?"

Before the blonde man had a chance to reply Madam Longbottom raised her own hand, "Enough we are not here to bicker amongst ourselves. Lucius has given his comments in relation to Severus Snape and they have been noted; does anyone have anything to say in relation Cuthbert Binns?"

They all sat in silence, even Dumbledore couldn't think of a reasonable argument to keep the ghost other than his long time service, which would only work against him, and he really couldn't mention the fact that he didn't get paid as that could lead to them wondering about the finances for the school and he really didn't want them dong that.

Madam Longbottom continued, "Very well, the decision must be made should Severus Snape retain his position and if so do we place him on probation with the warning that if we receive ten more complaints about him then he is to be immediately removed from the school." She gave a wave of her wand and pieces of parchment and a quill appeared in from of each board member, "If in favour of removing him from the position immediately mark the parchment with a cross, if you are in favour of placing him on probation mark the parchment with a P."

They all picked up the quills and made their marks; a second wave of her wand had the pieces of parchment gather in front of Augusta who then proceeded to sort them into two piles. "Very well," She said when done, "It would seem Severus Snape is to be placed on probation. But be warned Headmaster if between us we receive ten more complaints about him he is to be fired immediately is that clear?"

She held his eyes with a stern look that many found hard to bear, Dumbledore's eyes held none of his usual twinkle as he bowed his head, "I understand and I will go by the will of the school board, and may I say how pleased I am to see that you are all generous and willing to give him a second chance."

Madam Longbottom's stern look didn't waver once as she said, "Again your comments have been noted. Now the decision must be made should Cuthbert Binns be allowed to retain his position or should he be asked to move on and if he refuses be exorcised and replaced." The same wave as her wand from before saw fresh pieces of parchment appear in front of each board member next to the quills, "If you believe he should remain mark the parchment with an X, if in favour of removal mark the parchment with an R."

The board all made their marks and after they were collected in and sorted Madam Longbottom said, "The results shows that Cuthbert Binns is to be removed, Headmaster you are to remove him and have a new History of Magic teacher before the next meeting with this Board that is scheduled in one month."

Again Dumbledore bowed his head in acknowledgement, internally his anger continued to grow, how dare they dictate what actions to take in his school but he knew this was not a battle to fight, he would only lose it and he couldn't afford it, if he had to sacrifice one teacher and at least it was the only one that is a ghost then so be it, "I will see that it is done."

Madam Longbottom used her wand to move the pieces of parchment used in both votes over to where the minutes were being written, they would be filed in the official records along with the minutes after the meeting.

She then addressed them all once more, "And now the final matter for today, do we need to discuss if Albus Dumbledore is still fit to hold the position of headmaster?"

There were some mutterings from the board members but it was McGonagall that raised her hand, "Deputy Headmistress McGonagall you wished to say something?" Madam Longbottom asked.

McGonagall gave a shallow bow of her head, "I do," She looked at each member of the board before calmly saying, "I understand after the matter of Severus Snape and Cuthbert Binns why it may seem that the Headmaster seems to be failing in his position, however I would like to remind the board that Albus Dumbledore is not just the Headmaster of the school but is also the ICW representative for Britain, it's Supreme Mugwump and the Chief Warlock for the Wizengamot, as such I would ask that you consider that it is simply due to the volume of work produced by holding all three positons that has allowed the oversight that has resulted in this meeting to occur and not his lack of skills at being a good Headmaster."

Dumbledore wanted to glare at his Deputy for her words but forced himself to remain calm and appear to not be affected by what she said. Clearly she didn't realise that she wasn't helping the situation by implying that he was simply overworked and unable to juggle the three positions, none of which he had any intention of giving up due to the power they helped him wield.

Around them the governors were all nodding their heads at her words and it was Amanda who said, "Perhaps then the answer would be to either replace Albus as headmaster so that he can concentrate on his other two positons or that he relinquish one of them to be able to concentrate on his duties here at the school more."

Dumbledore had the full twinkle and grandfatherly effect on in full force as he said, "I hardly think that is necessary, I have been able to share my time between all three positions quite well during the years to ensure nothing important is missed."

Madam Longbottom looked thoughtful as she said, "If that was true then the recent issue of Severus Snape and Cuthbert Binns would not have arisen, indeed if the students do not believe they can even report complaints about a teacher to their headmaster but have to go direct to the board it would suggest that something very important is being missed. No I agree with Amanda I think it is time that you decided to give up one of your positions or we the board of governors will have to insist that you are removed as headmaster. We are scheduled to have another regular meeting in one months' time, as such we would like you to have made a decision by then or we will vote to remove you from Hogwarts."

Dumbledore sat there shocked, though he made sure not to show it; how dare they try to force him into this position well if they thought he would give up any of his positions they were wrong, he had eventually decided against calling in favours for this meeting but knew he would need to now to ensure that he was not removed from any of his positions and he would also have to keep a closer eye on his deputy as it looked like she was starting to push for his job now too.

"Now" Madam Longbottom pulled herself up straight, "If there is no further business I believe we are done here." They all nodded to show they were happy to finish and ten minutes later Dumbledore and McGonagall were watching them leave from the main entrance.

With disappointment clear in his voice Dumbledore said, "Was that really necessary Minerva, I thought you were joining me in the meeting to show your support."

McGonagall gave him a stern look, "Too many things are being missed Albus and yes I truly believe it is because you have spread yourself too thin by holding so many positions, if you want to play with politics then fine go do so, but if you want to be headmaster then you need to be here and not thinking of other things that cause you to overlook serious problems such as the incidents with Severus and Cuthbert."

She turned to walk away before looking back at him and saying, "And Albus I will be starting to make a daily check at the end of the day of the points book as is one of the duties for the Deputy headmistress, one I have neglected for too long and if I see any points that have been removed for inappropriate or ridiculous reasons and the member of staff responsible is unable to give reasonable explanation as to why they were taken when asked, I will be returning them to the house they were removed from and I will be doing the same for the detentions book also and void any that again were given for invalid reasons. I suggest you warn Severus before it causes him to be undermined too much in front of the students."

Before Dumbledore could make any comment she turned and carried on walking away back to her office. He gave a small sigh before making his own way to the dungeons to inform Severus that he was now on probation and the McGonagall was no longer ignoring the points or detentions books.

xxxx

A/N Again sorry that this has been posted so late. I also need to say sorry as I will no longer be able to do the usual seven chapters and then break for a week for two reasons.

One, my new business is really starting to take off and I need to pay a lot of attention to it so I don't get the time to really check over my chapters before posting them like I need to.

Two, I am now getting really close to where I am up to with writing this and I want to try and keep a few chapters ahead.

With this in mind I am now going to try and do just two updates a week, one on Monday and one of Friday.

Thank you everyone for all the support I get for this it is really appreciated.

Keep writing and have fun

V.


	23. Chapter 23 - Halloween

Disclaimer: I can honestly say that after looking at my poor bank balance I do not own any of the characters that you see and recognise here from either Harry Potter or The Labyrinth, I am just having a little fun with them all

**Chapter Twenty-Three – Halloween**

It was a few days later over the weekend that Dumbledore spoke to Professor Binns and informed him that it was time to stop teaching and become nothing more than a residential ghost like all of the others or to move on.

Binns couldn't see himself drifting around the castle with no purpose; he was too used to his routine and so told the headmaster that he would move on. That Saturday night unknown to the students all of the ghosts and most of the teachers gathered in the conference room on the second floor to say goodbye to Binns.

At midnight exactly Binns floated into the centre of the room where a circle had been drawn with a five pointed pentagram within it. Dumbledore moved to the head of the star and after a nod from Binns said, "Cuthbert Binns you have served Hogwarts well and we thank you but now it is time for you to move on. Be well my friend and be at peace." He waved his wand and the circle began to glow with a pale blue, moments later the pentagon started to glow with a pale gold.

Two minutes later and they gave a blinding flash of light and when it had died down Binns was gone. Silence filled the room, but was broken soon by Dumbledore saying, "With our friend and colleague gone I would like to announce that Barnaby Snell will be joining us tomorrow afternoon and he will be the new professor for History of Magic."

A quite buzz started back up from the others but they soon began to disperse and drift away back to their own rooms.

Sunday evening saw a notice appear in all of the common rooms letting all of the students know that it was mandatory for them to be in the Great Hall for eight o'clock on Monday morning, many had seen the arrival of the new teacher and so suspected he was the reason for the mandatory attendance.

Monday saw them being proven correct as all of the students were informed of Binns moving on and Professor Snell taking over History of Magic.

The students found Snell to be a great teacher and actually came to enjoy History of Magic, grades soon shot up and no further complaints were made about it. Even the OWL and NEWT students began to think that there was hope of getting a better grade than was thought possible, this was due to the compressed course Snell had put together for them.

Students also realised that even though Snape was as strict as ever in his classes he had obviously been put on a short leash as he never took points or assigned detentions any more unless someone caused a serious accident. All of the Hufflepuff first years were saying how much easier it was to get through the classes but they still weren't any good as he still didn't explain anything, he just put the recipe on the board and told them to start brewing.

Jared tried to help by explain something of the things that Sue told him in their potion lessons and it was clear on the Sunday study sessions that he was the strongest in that subject out of them all and would have to move around the table more than any other student there to make sure he sat and helped all of them with it.

Life at Hogwarts settled into a routine and the weeks started to fly past, Jared was making sure to write home at least once a week now and would usually get a reply a couple of days later from either his father or Sarah telling him all what was going on Underground a few days later. He had also mentioned in a letter to his father the sense of evil he kept getting from Professor Quirrell and the headaches it gave him, the reply had been that his father would look into it but to just try his best to ignore it for now, but go straight to McGonagall or Sprout if he sensed it getting any worse.

The girls all joined Jared for his morning workout and after a few mornings of getting used to working together they soon had a routine that suited all of them. The football matches were also a great hit, to begin with it was only the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor first years but word spread and soon they had enough people across three of the houses interested to be able to make two teams, and all the Hufflepuff first year lads really enjoyed the exercise claiming it was much better doing it on a Saturday afternoon rather than getting up stupidly early.

This led to questions as to what they meant from all the others and soon Jared's early morning session was joined by a several others, including a few Slytherin first years, they were later asked to join them to study on the Sunday sessions, and so as Dumbledore predicted they soon had members from all four houses working together.

Dumbledore tried to put a subtle stop to the football matches at least, but was soon rebuffed when Hagrid said how much he enjoyed having the students there on Saturday afternoon's and how it helped him to get to know them better. The other professors also mentioned how much better the students that played were doing in their classes and how they were dealing with less and less problems as the students now had a healthy way to get rid of their pent up energy.

They were even talking of figuring out some way to ensure that the games could continue during the winter months when it became impossible to play outside. Eventually they decided that as they were always on a Saturday afternoon it wouldn't take much for McGonagall and Flitwick to remove the house tables and charm the Great Hall into a pitch for them as it wasn't used at that time and Hagrid could continue to watch over them by coming up to castle as well, again something he was happy to do at it got him in the warmth for a few hours.

Soon they were all waking up to the delicious smell of baking pumpkins drifting throughout the corridors and Flitwick announced in charms that he thought they were finally ready to start the practical work on the levitation spell.

Due to his half-Fae blood Jared found makingd the graceful flow of the wand movement easy, the pronunciation had been a little tricky, making sure he put the emphasis in the correct place, but soon they were given a feather and the chance to have a try. It took two turns at trying before Jared managed to get his feather to float several centimetres off his desk. Flitwick was his usual cheerful self at seeing one of his student's succeed with a spell and promptly gave him 5 points.

Jared then spent the rest of the lesson helping his friend's master the spell, something Flitwick noticed and awarded him a further 2 points for aiding his friends.

The rest of the day seemed to go quickly and soon the Hufflepuff first years were heading to the Great Hall for the feast. As they were heading there Jared thought he saw a flash of purple out of the corner of his eye heading further into the dungeons but wasn't too sure if he did in fact see it. He brushed the thought off as one brought on by his excitement to be attending the feast and thinking it was possibly just one of the decoration bats that had been flitting around the corridors for most of the day.

In the hall itself a thousand bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while many more swooped in close to the tables but never below head height, although it didn't seem to stop some of the more girly girls from shrieking and trying to protect their hair whenever they did. Hundreds of pumpkins with candles in their centres hovered over all of the tables along with a mixture of both white and black candles.

It was only when the majority if not all of the students were seated did the food begin to appear on the plates, like the opening feast the house-elves had gone all out and rich pies and meats were served with bowls full of vegetables covered in melted butter and herbs.

Once everyone was stuffed with the main course it all disappeared to be replaced with rich sweet desserts, however there were also big bowls of sweets and chocolates dotted along the tables as well and you could see children stuffing some of them into their pockets to eat later in their common rooms.

Jared had spent the time between classes and the feast on his own where he had gone down to the Black Lake. Before leaving the Underground Jared had discussed this with his father and they had decided that as they were unsure if candles and a way to light them would be provided to the students so they had made sure to pack two tall white candles along with a small pack of matches.

Jared now pushed the two candles into the ground next to each other, he had had to use a touch of his Fae magic to soften the earth a bit to let him do so, and lit them. He then said the words that he and his father had been saying every Halloween since he had been adopted.

"James and Lily Potter, you gave me life for which I am forever grateful, you died to protect me for which I am forever grateful. I hope that wherever you are watching me that my actions, my thoughts and my words bring you pride and happiness and not regret that which you sacrificed your own lives for. Mum, Dad I do not remember you exactly but I remember that you were and I honour that memory here and now."

He then sat crossed legged with his head bowed in front of the candles for the next hour giving tribute to his birth parents. After about an hour he blew out the candles and headed back into the castle and his dorm to put the candles and matches away before heading back to re-join his friends.

Knowing that he had spent time honouring his birth parents earlier that day meant that Jared had no guilt over enjoying the rest of the holiday and the feast with his friends, he had given a wave to Neville and Hermione over at the Gryffindor table when they had come in, now he was happily sat at the Hufflepuff table laughing and eating as many sweets as he could, again thanks to his Half-Fae blood and therefore higher metabolism, he was able to handle the extra sugar in his system much better than his colleagues who were all starting to show the usual manic tendencies of a sugar high.

Suddenly Professor Quirrell came sprinting through the doors to the Great Hall in such a haste and clear state of disarray that he easily caught everyone's attention, a hush fell as they all watched him run to the middle of the hall before gasping out, "Troll – in the dungeons – thought you ought to know." And then to everyone else's eyes promptly fainted, but Jared could see that his breathing and tight posture meant that not only had the professor not fainted but was awake and likely well aware of what was going on around him.

Unfortunately due to the massive sugar high all of the students and possibly even some of the teachers, if their slightly flushed cheeks were any indication, were on as soon as they heard the man's exclamation the students all began screaming and yelling while the professors looked quite panicked.

Dumbledore set off several purple firecrackers from his wand to bring the hall back into some kind of order; again a hush had fallen, although some of the younger students still whimpered quietly.

"Prefects," he rumbled, "you will escort your houses back to the dormitories, professors you will come with me."

The prefects immediately began trying to round them all up, Jared was wide eyed at the sheer idiocy of the man and so stood and filled his voice with as much authority as he could muster, something his father had taught him a prince needed if he was to command his loyal subjects, "Headmaster do you intend to kill nearly half the school student population?"

This time silence did fall and many stared at Jared in a mixture of awe and fear. The professors had all frozen in place at his words and Dumbledore frowned at him but before he could say anything Jared continued, "Not only are the Hufflepuff dorms near the entrance to the dungeons but the Slytherin dorms I believe are deep within them. Do you intend to send them walking into the troll as fodder."

Outraged looks began to appear on all of the Slytherin's faces and many of the Hufflepuff's looked both angry and scared. "It would be better if all students remained in the hall and the staff secured the door from the outside while they dealt with the troll. Or if you prefer as I speak Troll I can go and talk to it and see if I get it to leave the grounds peacefully." Jared finished saying with a firm, calm look at the headmaster.

Dumbledore regarded him with a neutral face for several moments, "That will not be necessary Prince Jared, Prefects please do a head count of your houses and ensure that all are accounted for, if you find any missing please inform your house ghost and they will relay the message to a professor. Professors please come with me."

The students quickly returned to their houses tables, buzzing with how close the two houses had come to being Troll food because of Dumbledore's mistake. The prefects quickly did a head count and found only a few students missing but their friends soon told them that they thought they were safe in their dorms or the hospital wing due to sickness. This was relayed to the house ghosts, all of which quickly followed up to ensure the missing students were in fact safe.

Jared was keeping an eye on Professor Quirrell as he answered Justin's question on if he could really speak troll. "Of course, there are several in my father's Kingdom and it would be rude of me not to be able to speak to all of the subjects of what will one day be my Kingdom."

Jared saw the DADA professor shift where he was lying very slightly, "Hey Emma," Jared called to the fifth year prefect that was near them, when she walked over he gave a quick wave to the supposedly fainted man, "Shouldn't someone do something about Professor Quirrell?"

Emma looked over at him before turning back to Jared, "Your right Jared we should, I'll talk to the Head boy and girl and the seventh year prefects, I'm sure they will take care of it."

He gave a nod of thanks to her before turning back to his friends, but not before seeing the frown that passed briefly over the professor's face. Soon the Head Boy and Girl along with the seventh year prefects from Ravenclaw and Gryffindor made their way to the man and began picking him up to move him over to the head table, as they did so he seemed to come around and began stuttering, asking what was going on.

The Head boy and girl quickly filled him in and he soon said what excellent action had been taken and that he will stay to help support the students in the Great Hall and then began to watch over them all from the head table.

It was an hour later before all of the other professors and the headmaster returned and declared the school safe for them all return to their dormitories, the prefects then began ushering them all to their houses where drinks and some sweets had been placed so that the celebration of Halloween could continue, Jared decided to call an early night though and headed to his room.

As all the other first years decided to stay in the common room Jared had the dorm room to himself, he quickly pulled the curtains shut and with a touch of concentration sealed them with his Fae magic. He then settled into his meditation pose and fell into himself. It wasn't long until he had reached out with his senses and connected with the castle.

She brushed against him with a tender touch of welcome; he returned the gesture before asking the question he was hoping she would know the answer too. Where did the troll come from and how did it get into the castle?

He was sent a selection of images from the castle, the first showed some distant hills filled with caves, when the image pulled back across the land back to the castle Jared could see that there was at least two or three miles covered, so that explained why he had not been aware of the trolls before.

It was a pity that there was so much distance between them, too much for a first year to be able to make the journey, otherwise he would have reached out to the Aboveground Trolls, although he had been warned by his father that the ones Underground tended to be smarter and that was why they were there and not Aboveground with their clans who were thicker and much more prone to acting out violently before thinking in any situation.

The second image was of Professor Quirrell, his outdoor cloak firmly wrapped around him as he flew away from the school on a broom that looked much nicer and in better condition than the school brooms.

Finally the third image showed Quirrell returning but at a slower speed and he was turning around every so often as though making sure he was still being followed by something, soon Jared could see the hulking shape of the troll loom into the light shining from the castle windows following Quirrell at a quick pace.

So Quirrell had let the troll into the castle before running into the feast to announce it, clearly the man had hoped it would be a good diversion for him to do something, Jared suspected it would have something to do with the third floor, but again like at the opening feast was determined to not get involved with whatever the headmaster was doing on that floor.

Jared thanked the castle for the images and then posed another question; do you not have wards to keep such dangerous creatures out?

While Jared was friendly with the trolls in the Underground he was also well aware just how dangerous they could be and that it would not be a good idea to have them around the students.

Again he received an image from the castle, this time it showed Dumbledore descending into a room that was set beneath the Headmasters office and could only be accessed from there.

He went down the stone stairs and emerged into a room that held a glowing stone at its centre, placing his right hand flat against the top of it the wards for the castle flared into view, Dumbledore then proceeded to will the ward to keep dangerous creatures from entering to be deactivated.

He left the ward chamber and walked the castle seeming to run into the DADA professor almost accidentally, before proceeding to have a conversation with the man where it was thinly vailed as an invitation for him to invite some creature into the castle.

Jared also felt a great deal of anger from the castle at this clearly she had not approved of the headmasters actions. Jared felt his own anger spike at the old man's actions someone could have been serious hurt by tonight's little adventure.

Jared sent back a feeling of gratitude for her showing him the image and reassurance that he would see something done about the old man. The castle responded with a mental version of a hug before withdrawing away.

Jared continued to meditate for a short while as he sorted out this new information before pulling out of it and after unsealing his curtains, got ready for bed. He was curled up on top of the covers reading a book his father had sent him on royal politics when his dorm mates finally appeared, clearly the sugar high was beginning to wear off and they were all heading for a major crash, Jared at least helped make sure that they all got ready for bed and were curled up under their covers before it hit and they all zonked out.

He also went to find the seventh year prefect and after a few minutes talking to him managed to persuade the older boy to transfigure bits of sweet wrappers into buckets that Jared could set next to the bed for each of his dorm mates in case they woke up feeling sick from all the sweets and couldn't make it to the bathroom on time, he even managed to use a touch of his Fae charm to get the female fifth year prefect to do the same for him in the girls dorm room.

xxxx

A/N First of all sorry that this is a day late.

Secondly someone also advised me that I had put the wrong name for a school governor in the previous chapter, I called one of the members Amanda Bobbins, and it was thought this should be Amelia Bones. I admit I used the HP Lexicon online to get the names for the governors.

I didn't mean to cause confusion and I know that Amelia Bones is on the school board but as it was an emergency meeting I thought the head of the DMLE wasn't likely to be able to make it and so left her out and Amanda Bobbins was just another member that was able to attend.

Again sorry if this caused any confusion.

Keep writing and have fun

V.


	24. Chapter 24 - Is Christmas cancelled?

Disclaimer: I can honestly say that after looking at my poor bank balance I do not own any of the characters that you see and recognise here from either Harry Potter or The Labyrinth, I am just having a little fun with them all

**Chapter Twenty-Four – Is Christmas cancelled?**

Dumbledore was getting more and more frustrated with how poorly his plans were going and it was getting harder to hide.

In the political part of his life he had called in several favours and so far had managed to stay in all three of his positions, the school governors had tried to push him on it again at the regular meeting in October, but they had relented when he informed them he had tried his best to give one up but others had insisted that he stay.

He had seen the look of anger and disappointment pass across McGonagall's face when they had relented and given him until after Christmas to prove that he could handle all three potions better, but he would deal with that another time.

Things at Hogwarts were being just as frustrating too. So far Harry hadn't gone near the third floor, Hagrid was making slow progress feeding the boy stories of his parents, but the football games were making it harder for him to feed the boy stories about his own greatness as there were not exactly any sporting stories that could easily be related to his own great achievements.

The incident with the Troll, instead of setting up a nice little test of proving the boy to be brave and bold by rushing to the aid of some Hufflepuff comrades on the way to their common room had fallen flat when he had made the headmaster change his plan to protect the Slytherin's as well.

He had gone and observed the Sunday study sessions twice more and had spotted that they had managed to include a few Slytherin's at their weekly study session now, thankfully only a couple of the more neutral Slytherin's but it was still damaging all the hard work he had done over the years.

He had also noticed the secret meetings his Deputy was having with Flitwick and Sprout. He didn't doubt that it had something to do with Harry, if only he could figure out what.

And then there was Flitwick giving the lad private lessons, he didn't believe the flimsy excuse his charms professor had given that it was simply extra tutoring because the boy was struggling in the subject. He suspected it was linked to the goblins in some way as a result of Flitwick's heritage but so far they had kept to Flitwick's own office and chambers and there were no portraits in there that Dumbledore could use to spy on them.

He needed to bring the boy back under his control, he would need to make sure he didn't go back to the Undergound for Christmas, no he needed to keep him here to prove to that cursed delusional fool calling himself the King of the Goblins that he, Albus Dumbledore was in control of the boy's destiny and not some fool that thought he had any kind of power.

The only good news he had was that he had finally pulled the right strings to have the Mirror of Erised transported to Hogwarts, now he just needed to set it up somewhere that Harry would come across it so he could give his wisdom on its power to the boy before hiding the stone within it.

Of course that would mean he would have to relinquish the stone from the small vault he had been keeping it in in his own quarters along with the small amount of gold and elixir he had produced from it, after all a man as wise as he needed to have a back-up plan and that was what the gold and elixir were for, just in case things went wrong and he needed to ensure he would be around for a much longer time than he had left naturally to defeat Tom.

xx

Snow had fallen and for the first time in Jared's life he got to experience a snowball fight with his friends as well as building a snowman. The Goblin Kingdom was always hot and arid so they never had snow, he had heard stories from Sarah and she had promised that once his younger siblings were old enough to travel Aboveground they would all travel to an area that had deep snow and play in it.

Of course there were Kingdoms in the Underground that did get snow but they tended to be the more dangerous Kingdoms so they were never really allowed to travel there without strict supervision let alone to play in it.

The snow meant that Christmas was soon approaching and Jared was looking forward to going home over the break. He sat chatting about it with his friends in the Great Hall at lunch with hot chocolate that the house-elves had provided instead of the usual Pumpkin juice.

They were each telling what plans their families had for the festive period, Jared wasn't able to add his own advising his friends that he wouldn't know until he got back home and found out what duties as a Prince he had to do during the holidays. It wasn't until Sprout had reached them that they noticed their Head of House had been coming to towards them.

"Prince Jared," her voice held its normal warmth and cheerfulness but they could all see the grim look in her eyes, "the headmaster has asked to meet with you in his office, and of course I will be going with you if you agree."

Jared frowned, he couldn't think of an excuse to not go and so put his hot chocolate down, "Of course Professor, see you guys later." He said, like Sprout he seemed his usual cheerful polite self, but looking at his eyes would reveal his own grim feelings. He stood and walked out of the hall with Sprout asking her in a quiet but tense voice, "Do you know why he wants to see me Professor?"

She gave a small sigh, "Unfortunately when I asked he would only say that it was an important matter." Jared merely frowned for a moment before adopting a neutral look, he had a feeling that whatever the headmaster wanted to say he was not going to like it.

The walked to the second floor and Sprout led them to a large gargoyle, "Candy Canes" Sprout said and the gargoyle moved aside to reveal the staircase that led up to the headmaster's office, "He always picks sweets for his password." Sprout explained when she saw the confusion on Jared's face.

He just rolled his eyes at that before following her up the stairs. At the top Sprout knocked on the door and they heard a muffled 'Enter' before she pushed the door open and they walked in.

Dumbledore sat behind his desk, his grandfatherly air and twinkle on full force, aided by the layers of calming spells placed on the office as well as compulsion spells to tell the truth and accept what you are told as truth on the chairs. It was why Dumbledore never had any problem getting anyone to see things his way whenever he spoke to them in his office; it was also why he always tried to ensure any visitors such as the Minister always talked to him here and nowhere else.

"Ah professor Sprout, Prince Jared, thank you for coming please take a seat." Sprout moved to sit in one of the chairs before the desk but Jared moved off to the side and made for Fawkes. Once he was in front of him, with his right hand crossing his chest he gave a short bow to the phoenix.

"Greetings Fawkes of the fire clan."

Fawkes gave a soft trill of welcome to the Prince before pushing off from his perch to move to Jared's shoulder, there he began to run his beak through Jared's hair, causing the young boy to laugh, "You honour me Fawkes and thank you for this gift." Being careful not to disrupt the phoenix Jared then moved to the empty seat next to Sprout.

Dumbledore gave him a pleased smile, "My my, I have never seen Fawkes take to someone as he has you Prince Jared and you are correct it truly is a wonderful gift to be so well liked by a phoenix, a gift I have enjoyed for many years."

Jared raised an eyebrow at him, "It is hardly surprising that a phoenix is happy not only to be greeted with respect but in a manner that is correct when meeting a member of their species for the first time, and acknowledging me is not the gift I spoke of."

Dumbledore smiled dimmed, "Oh then may I ask what gift has my familiar given to you?"

Jared frowned at him and in a cool but calm voice said, "If you are truly hold the bond of familiar with Fawkes then you would know what gift he has given me, as would anyone who knows anything about Phoenixes."

The twinkle disappeared, "I assure you I have made a great study and know quite a bit about Phoenixes and my familiar Fawkes has been key helping me learn about them."

Fawkes stopped running his beak through Jared's hair long enough to give a short sharp trill. Jared had to smother his laughter but couldn't stop the smile when he heard it having been taught some of the language of the phoenix by the High Lord as he had once been visiting the Dragon Kingdom at the same time as the King and Queen of all the Phoenixes clans which had been on their own annual visit to the Ancestor Dragons.

Dumbledore and Sprout could tell that Jared had clearly understood Fawkes and they both wanted to ask what he had said but managed to refrain from doing so, Sprout because she knew this was not the time or place and Dumbledore because he didn't want to admit that he did not understand and if he had truly had a familiar bond he would have, not to mention he would have had total control over Fawkes, but again he wasn't going to admit he didn't.

Something else he was mistaken about, had he really understood anything about the true bond shared with a familiar he would have known that it didn't work like that but was a pledge of mutual friendship and respect shared between the two in the bond.

"Anyway headmaster," Jared said schooling his face back to a neutral look, "I believe you asked to see me on an important matter."

The twinkle returned in full and Dumbledore silently and wandlessly cast another compulsion charm at Prince Jared to reinforce the ones imbedded in the chair he already sat on, "Indeed, it is with regret that I must inform you Prince Jared that you will be unable to leave Hogwarts during the Christmas period."

Jared had opened his Fae senses as they had made their way up to the office as such he had felt all the layers of the spells placed on the office to make anyone that entered to be more amenable to the Headmaster but was confident that his Half-Fae blood would protect him from succumbing to them too easily.

He felt the compulsion charm cast wash over him and the sudden desire to give into and accept what the headmaster was telling him, but of course the old man didn't know that his trainers Underground had used such charms on him when he was seven and taught him to throw them off easily.

He did so now and the thought that the Headmaster would dare to use one on a child under the protection of his school angered him, add in the multiple charms in the office and he knew this would be the last time he stepped into this office willingly.

He frowned and forcing his voice to remain calm politely asked, "On what grounds do you keep me here against my will?"

The twinkle remained in full force as Dumbledore said, "You are not being held here against your will Prince Jared, in my position as Headmaster I must ensure the safety of all students, as such it is simply too dangerous for you to leave the school grounds at this time."

Jared felt a second compulsion charm wash over him, this time stronger then the first one but again he magically shrugged off the effects and in the same polite voice asked, "And have you informed all of the other students on a one-to-one basis that they are unable to return home for Christmas?"

The twinkle began to dim now as Dumbledore realised that his wandless compulsion charms were not working, "It was not necessary to cancel the Christmas plans for the other students."

Jared's frown deepened as he said, "Surely if there is a threat of danger for one student to leave there is a threat to all students and if you are ensuring the safety of the students then they must all be stopped from leaving."

Dumbledore forced himself to keep smiling benignly, "There is no threat against the other students, however due to your fame as the Boy-Who-Lived and certain individuals intending you harm it is best if you remain here at the castle where it is safe."

Jared gave a shrug, "It is well known that I intend to go home for Christmas any threat that was being planned against the Hogwarts Express to try and reach me as we travel back to London would not be negated by my not leaving at such short notice but would continue to threaten the other students. Also if there is such a concern for safety you should inform the Magical law enforcement department, as it falls under their jurisdiction to provide security measures against such attacks. Have you informed them?"

The twinkle was gone now as, "I am sure that there is no need to bother the Aurors when they are so busy, the other students will be perfectly safe on the train, but that is not something we can ensure if you leave. I am sorry Prince Jared but I forbid you to leave the castle during the Christmas period." His voice was firm now and many witches and wizards had cowered when they heard him use that tone of voice with them and easily given into what he wanted as he expected Jared to do now.

Instead to his growing annoyance, Jared simply stood and after giving a little shrug to make Fawkes head back to his perch said, "Please excuse me Headmaster I need to go and send Hedwig with a message to my father that I will be unable to meet him in London as I am being held against my will here at the castle."

Dumbledore frowned at him, "I must insist that you send no such message. You are not being held against your will and I cannot allow you to create such panic."

Jared had turned to walk out of the office but he turned back now, "I am not allowed to leave the castle nor send any messages, tell me Headmaster if that is not the definition of being held against my will what is?"

Dumbledore was forcing himself to remain and sound calm, how dare this brat challenge him like this, "As I have said you are not being held against your will, it is for your own safety that you must remain."

"Headmaster," Jared said, "I am a Prince and my father's Heir to the Kingdom do you really think that I have not been kidnapped before, would you like me to tell you the stories of what happened to those that tried? Or would you like to wait and see what my father does when I do not go home for Christmas and he receives no communication from me about it either?"

Sprout had sat in silence during the whole meeting, her own fury had been clear as soon as the Headmaster had started to deny Jared the right to leave, but a slight smile tugged at her lips now at the thought of King Jareth storming the castle to get his Son.

Dumbledore had a hard look in his eyes and in the same calm but firm voice said, "Are you threating me young man? I am your Headmaster and you will abide by my rules while you are a student of this school."

Jared raised his eyebrows at him in disbelief, "If you are so easily threatened when I speak nothing but facts to you maybe you have been in the position too long and as for your last statement I can easily remedy that by leaving the school and attending elsewhere.

However I believe that you don't want that for whatever stupid plans you are trying to make for my life. Be warned Headmaster if you ever say anything like that to me again I will leave, I will not bow to anyone in this bigoted world that cannot even think for itself but allows an old man drunk with power to manipulate them into whatever game he wishes to play. Now if you will excuse I need to finish packing" He gave a short bow to Sprout and Fawkes before turning hard eyes on Dumbledore, "Good day Headmaster."

He had just reached the door when Dumbledore snapped angrily, "You will stay where you are. I have not given you permission to leave my office. You are an eleven year old boy that has clearly been spoiled and I will not have spoiled little princes in my school. You will learn that I am in charge of this school."

Sprout immediately glared at him and was about to start shouting at him while Jared didn't even turn around he only carried on out of the office door as he had felt the sudden surge in anger from Fawkes.

As soon as Dumbledore was finished and before Sprout could start, Fawkes let out a short sharp trill of reprimand before gliding to Dumbledore's desk in front of him and pulling himself up to his full height he spread his wings and gave a blast of heat to push the Headmaster back into his chair, he then proceeded to give a long strain of trills that clearly expressed his own anger at the old man.

Never before had Dumbledore been told off by a Phoenix, it was not a pleasant experience he was likely to forget anytime soon as the heat being aimed at him did not abate but continued to hold him in his chair and was at a temperature that was more than uncomfortable for a human. It left a red gleam on any exposed skin, similar to sunburn and was just as sensitive and stinging to touch.

The music of the trills also left him feeling unsettled and not only disturbed him but his magic as well, he could feel his core was unbalanced and that it would be hard for him to cast any magic with his usual confidence and success for some time.

After several minutes Fawkes finished but instead of returning to his normal perch flew higher up and settled on one of the railings on the top levels of the office. Sprout merely looked at the Headmaster with disappointment and anger, "You were warned Albus, not only by myself but by Minerva as well as to what could happen if you push too hard to control the child and now Fawkes, I truly hope that now you have learned to leave him alone."

Dumbledore kept his face neutral as he replied to his Herbology Professor, "I am the Headmaster Pomona and I must have complete control within this school. I cannot allow a spoiled little child think that he can simply get away with whatever he wants just because he is a Prince. He must be taught his place and that older and wiser people are in charge for his own good."

Sprout shook her head at him, "Prince Jared has broken no rules he has done his work to a high standard and is always polite and courteous to not just the staff but his fellow students. You pulled him in here today to exert control where you have no right to and then acted like the child and threw a tantrum when shown that you could not have the control you wanted.

Prince Jared acted more of an adult today than you did. Now if you will excuse me I have a great deal to do to ensure the safe departure of my Badgers." She stood and made her way to the door, before she left she turned he head and said, "Oh and Albus I will be informing Minerva of exactly what went on here today." With that she left.

Dumbledore sat in his office and seethed with anger, how dare they defy him, how dare the brat just throw off his spells and speak to him like that. He was the Headmaster, he was Albus Dumbledore the defeater of Gellert Grindelwald and he would have obedience.

He rose and ignoring the stinging of his lightly burned skin moved to a cupboard that was further back in his office, away from prying eyes. Opening it he pulled a silvery cloak out of one of its compartments, he had decided to give this back to Harry as a Christmas present to get the boy back on his side with the generous gesture of a grandfatherly old man retuning something precious that called to his Potter heritage.

Well he would still give it to him but now he would use it to ensure he got control back as well, there were many spells that could be attached to cloaks, not to mention many potions that could be poured over them too.

He put the cloak back and opened a draw to reveal a small case that held three vials filled with blood, he had gotten them when Hagrid had brought baby Harry to the castle all those years ago when James and Lily had died, they were held under a special stasis charm he had created to keep the blood from going dry and stale. It had taken the use of a mild memory charm on Poppy to make her forget he had taken them but it had been necessary for the greater good and he had needed a back-up plan encase anything the Dursley's did made him a bit too independent.

He pulled out one of the vials, sure that it would be enough for the potions he had in mind, closing the draw reactivated the stasis charms on the two remaining vials. Taking the one he had removed he made his way to his own private lab at the back of his office, he had no intention of allowing anyone to know he had Harry Potter's blood, not even his pet potions master and he was a master brewer himself, after all he had been apprentice to Nicholas Flamel.

Up in the rafters Fawkes watched him and began to feel that it may finally be time to leave but worried what would happen if he removed even the minimal affect his presence had on the old man in trying to keep on the path of light. For now he decided to stay and do his best for a little longer.

xxxx

A/N so let that be a lesson to everyone…never anger a Phoenix! Lol

I have to admit it's fairly late at night right now ad I am quite tired when checking over this chapter so hopefully I haven't missed too many mistakes, if I have sorry and I will try to find time tomorrow to go over it again and correct any I missed tonight.

Some people have mentioned about how Jared/Harry doesn't seem to be doing anything about the magical attempts Dumbledore keeps making against him but don't worry, it might seem like nothing is being done but he is telling Jareth about them all in his letters and something will be done, it won't be anytime soon but steps are going to be taken. With how powerful Dumbledore is politically they just have to do it very carefully but the breaking point is coming.

Keep writing and have fun

V.


	25. Chapter 25 - Holidays are coming

Disclaimer: I can honestly say that after looking at my poor bank balance I do not own any of the characters that you see and recognise here from either Harry Potter or The Labyrinth, I am just having a little fun with them all

**Chapter Twenty-Five – Holidays are coming…**

Instead of heading straight back to his dorm to finish packing, all classes had finished the day before to give the students time to get ready to leave, Jared went to the dis-used classroom near to Hufflepuff house that he had sorted out for meditation.

It had taken him two day work, between attending lessons, studying and spending time with his friends but finally he had thoroughly cleaned the room. He had used his knowledge of the location for the kitchens to obtain the necessary cleaning equipment so that he could do it by hand.

The windows now had a clean sparkle to them, there was no dust on any surface and the flag stones had been thoroughly scrubbed. The small fireplace at the very back of the room had also been scrubbed clean of the ancient ash that it was crusted with and the black fire guard was scoured and polished. Finally he had moved all of the chairs and desks in the room to one side and neatly stacked them together.

Once all of that was done he had then consulted with Professor Flitwick on the best ways to cleanse the room of all magical influence. After his own brief inspection of the room Flitwick had been delighted with the work Jared had done to clean it and been more than happy aid in the cleansing of it. When they were done he had even asked if Prince Jared would mind if he joined him sometimes for meditation as it was something he had learned long ago when training and naturally it had always helped him concentrate more, especially when trying to lean a particularly tricky new spell or movement with his weapons.

It was something else he had given up when he had become a teacher, along with his days on the duelling circuit, Jared had happily agreed to share the room with his Professor.

Flitwick had set up one ward on the room to prevent any listening spells or devices from being planted inside as well as a second ward on the door that password protected it, he and Jared had then decided on a password together. Unlike a normal spoken password they had decided to set it to only react to a goblin made coin that Flitwick had provided, they each had one and it had to be pressed to the keyhole to unlock the ward and the door. To ensure no one could take the coin off them and use them Flitwick had also keyed the wards to his and Jared's magical signature.

They knew the Headmaster would detect the ward once it was set up so Flitwick had made sure to talk to McGonagall about it and she had given him written permission for it as a result of an official request by a student for a private place to meditate, she backdated the forms and had Jared fill them out, all of which was within her authority as the Deputy Headmistress and in the past was always something that would have been dealt with by the Deputy and not the Headmaster anyway. The Headmaster would be unable to say anything about it, especially as it was also a space that Flitwick would be using as well.

Now after his meeting with the Headmaster Jared headed there and settled down to at least an hour's meditation to regain the sense of peace in his mind that he had lost. When he was sure he had regained it he came out of his meditative trance and spent a little time cleaning and straightening the room, then he headed back to his dorm to pack the last of the things he was taking home.

He was soon finished and headed back down to the common room, there he found the other first years relaxing in some comfy chairs having finished their own packing but he soon had them persuaded to wrap up warm and head out for one last snowball fight. Ever since the first flakes had begun to fall Jared had been fascinated and slightly obsessed with the snow, something that had amused all of his friends.

They had laughed at him and the excited way he had bounced around the common room from window to window watching it fall like a little child, it was the most childlike they had ever seen him, the mature polite Prince they all knew had disappeared. It was Susan that had managed to ask through her own tears of laughter "Don't you get snow in your Kingdom?"

Jared had shaken his head and bounced to another window as he replied, "It's really more of a hot dessert Kingdom, it can get pretty chilly but never cold enough for Snow. My Stepmum is from America and she told us about snow and the fun it could be but we never got it. I didn't realise it was so beautiful." He had then spun around and to their amusement begged them to go out and play in it.

Even the older students couldn't help grinning at the sight and hadn't been able to resist his begging, it had resulted in a massive snowball fight that included all members of Hufflepuff, although by the end most of the Gryffindor's and Ravenclaw's had joined in too, even a few members of Slytherin House had gotten involved, although it was only the ones from the Sunday study sessions the first years had.

When they had all eventually started to return back inside the students had found three very amused heads of houses watching them before they directed them all in to the Great Hall where they had ordered the house-elves to serve Hot Chocolate and Gingerbread biscuits to the students to help warm them up.

Ever since then if he wasn't in lesson, studying or training with Flitwick Jared would try and get everyone to go and play out in the snow and if no one would he just shrugged and went out on his own and built snowmen.

The early morning training sessions had also moved inside now because of the snow, they met up in the entrance hall and did the warm up exercises there before going for a jog around the castle. Fred and George Weasley had sat down with Jared and a map to try and work out the best route especially as they seemed to know where all of the secret passage ways were.

They had been really surprised when they got joined by McGonagall and she had helped them plan the route too, making sure it was one that wouldn't cause any trouble to any other students that may be around, not likely with how early they worked out but it was still better to plan for it just in case.

Another reason for meeting up with the twins was to discuss the possibility of a new prank but with the head of Gryffindor's arrival they had to re-arrange that meeting, the next day all three had discreetly gone to the seventh floor and spent an hour and a half in the hidden office, Jared had managed to find out that it was in fact Rowena Ravenclaw's private office by this point. They had made plans for a Christmas prank that would be pulled while most of the students were away, as such it was aimed at the teachers but a few cameras strategically placed would make sure the students didn't miss out.

The following morning after the Headmasters attempt to stop him leaving saw all of the first years sitting in the Great Hall chatting excitedly about plans they had for over the Christmas holidays, again the only one not talking much about their own plans was Jared, he had vaguely explained to the others why he wouldn't know until he returned home so they knew not to push him too hard for details.

Soon enough they had all eaten and after collecting their trunks headed for the carriages that would take them down to the station, before climbing in Jared surprised most of them by stepping to the front and appearing to pat something that wasn't there.

"Hey Jared what are you doing?" Justin asked him curiously, Jared glanced over his shoulder and saw the others looking at him with bemused expressions, although Susan appeared to be a bit pale and wide eyed, clearly she could see the creatures too.

Jared gave them a small smile, "I'm just thanking these beautiful creatures for pulling the carriage for us. Hop in and I'll explain as we head down to the station." They gave a shrug and got in no one wanted to hang about and risk missing the train, he moved to join them and soon they were moving off.

"You guys can't see them but Hogwarts has its own herd of Thestrals. They are horse like creatures but have what appears to be a thinner skin because you can see the skeleton through it but is actually very tough and wings that look similar to a bats. The thing about Thestrals is that you can only see them if you have seen death." The others all sat in silence for a few moments as they considered this, Jared glanced at Susan but didn't ask what had led to her seeing them, it was considered a rude thing to ask due to how private the reply could be.

Finally Megan quietly said, "I guess after your parents, your birth parents I mean that explains why you can see them."

Jared didn't feel like correcting her, after all how could a fifteen month old baby truly comprehend that they had seen death, no it wasn't his birth parents dying that gave him the ability to see the Thestrals but that didn't mean he wanted to talk about something that private, so he didn't say anything and let them come to their own conclusions instead.

The rest of the journey was in silence and remained that way until they were about 10 minutes in to the journey on the train and Jared's invite to a game of exploding snap broke them all out of it and they started to have a fun trip back to London.

xx

In London Jareth was stood on the magical side of the platform waiting for the train to arrive, he had kept back to the shadows wanting to avoid all the other parents waiting for their own children. He had been called away by a wish the day before but with no run of the Labyrinth, it seemed to be getting rarer and rarer for a run to occur these days, as such he was still in a dark mood and didn't really feel like being nice with the mortals.

It seems he was not to get his own wish as he was approached by a tall blonde man, he stopped just short of where he stood and gave a short shallow bow of his head, "Good day, may I ask am I addressing the father of Prince Jared?"

Jareth forced himself to keep his face neutral, he didn't return the bow, which he had found rather insulting given how shallow it had been and in a bored voice simply stated "I am" before looking away from the man hoping he would take the rather obvious hint and leave, unfortunately that was not to be.

"I am Lucius Malfoy your Majesty, our boys are in the same year at Hogwarts. I hope you will forgive me my presumption but every year we hold a ball at Malfoy Manor to celebrate Christmas and I wish to personally extend an invitation to you and your family." He held out a small white rectangle and the way he held himself and the small smile tugging at his lips told Jareth that the blonde expected nothing else but for him to take the invite and agree to attend immediately.

Through his work at the bank Jareth knew that the Malfoy family was currently considered one of the richest and most influential families in Britain's wizarding world, the goblins had even heard that he was pushing to be called a Lord and have the family status moved from a magical house to a Noble and Most Ancient one but the records office was managing to resist them due to the technical requirements needed to for the change in status that the Malfoy family were still at least two generations away from meeting to even be called an Ancient house let alone a Noble one.

Jareth was more than aware of how inaccurate the assumption made by the wizarding world was as he knew exactly how much the Malfoy's had and who was far richer but chose not to broadcast it as they did. Without even looking back at the man, instead choosing to look around at the other people on the station and noticing Madam Longbottom off to one side clearly watching them he said in the same bored voice, "We already have engagements we cannot break."

The smug look on Lucius's face disappeared and a look of anger began to glimmer in his eyes at the dismissive way he was being spoken to, he forced himself to give a small humourless smile "You would of course be welcome to drop by during the evening even if you could not stay for long."

Jareth finally turned and glared at him and Lucius took a step back as terror shot through him at the sight of the hard cold eyes being turned on him. They seemed to look right through him to his very soul, "I have given you my answer now leave." The voice was as cold and hard as the eyes. Lucius gave a very quick short shallow bow and without a word left, the feeling of fear continued to grip him as he hurried back across the platform and reminded him of the days of his master.

It was another five minutes before the train arrived, during that time Jareth remained at the back of the platform in the half shadows, he only moved out of them when heard the whistle of the train beginning to arrive, then he moved over to where he had seen Madam Longbottom off to the side.

He stopped just short of her and gave a short bow to her which she returned by giving a slightly deeper bow of respect to him, "Your Majesty, I trust you are well?"

He gave her a small tight smile, "I am, though some unfortunate duties I was required to attend to unexpectedly yesterday have I admit left me a little intolerant to some of the idiots populating the platform today. " She gave him a grim look of understanding and without saying anything quite obviously glanced over at Malfoy showing that she had seen the exchange even if she had not heard what had been said. "I trust you are too, I take it you are here to pick up Neville? Jared has written to us of the friendship they have found in each other." He politely asked, his smile starting to turn a little warmer, clearly he preferred talking to her.

She returned his smile, "I too am well thank you sire, and Neville has written of their friendship too it has helped comfort my old heart that he has found someone to confide in, he did not have an easy life growing up." A look of shame crossed her face, "I admit I was too harsh on the boy, blinded by attempting to make him more like my son, but recently I have come to realise my error."

Jareth was about to reply but just then the train pulled in to the station with a puff of steam and a final loud piercing whistle. Moments after it had stopped doors were opening and laughing chattering students were pouring out, cries of welcome were being shouted along with names and family titles such as mum, dad, aunt, uncle or cousin.

Jared rushed over a huge smile on his face as he stopped just short of his father and gave a hasty bow to him, "Your Majesty, father it is good to see you."

Jareth finally broke out into a genuine full smile, "And you little one, who are your friends?" he gave a small bow of his head in the direction of the few people behind Jared.

Turning so that his father could see them properly, but making sure not to turn his back on him either Jared said, "Sire please allow me to introduce to you some of my friends, Miss Hermione Granger," as he indicated each friend and said their name they bobbed a little curtsey or a short bow, "Miss Susan Bones, Mr Neville Longbottom and Mr Justin Finch-Fletchley." Most of his other friends had already met their relatives off the train and headed home.

Jareth inclined his head at each one, "Greetings, I trust you all had a pleasant journey." He got nods and murmurs of agreement from them all and the girls had a faint blush as they did theirs. "I hope you all have a merry Christmas but if you will excuse us Jared and I must be getting back."

He gave a final nod in Madam Longbottom's direction and Jared quickly gave a hasty goodbye to everyone, he had noticed the shadow in his father's eyes and knew he only got that after a failed or no-run of the Labyrinth and explained the rush in leaving as normally his father would spend the time in his office away from others, not picking his son up from a busy train station filled with irritating mortals.

They both remained silent as Jareth took them outside and into the waiting black Rolls Royce, in the car he finally wrapped an arm around Jared and pulled him close to give him the hug he had wanted to do since laying eyes on him, "I have missed you little one." He admitted quietly into his son's hair.

Jared returned the hug with equal ferocity, "And I you father." They stayed like that for some time and before they knew it they were outside the Leaky Cauldron. Jareth then had Jared cast his own glamour using his own Fae magic to make sure he had not forgotten how to, once he was happy with it he cast his own glamour, it was necessary to ensure they were not recognised not that anyone would know who he was but he didn't want anyone to remember the look of the person seen escorting Harry Potter should they see through Jared's glamour, he knew there was no way they would see through _his_ glamour.

Jareth had used his own Fae magic at the station to shrink Jared's trunk and place in it his jacket pocket. When they had reached bank and were away from the eyes of the general wizarding world Jareth handed the shrunken trunk to a pair of Goblin warriors un-shrunk it and told them, "Have both the trunk and everything in it checked for any kind of tracking or listening charms. Once any present have been removed send it on to the castle."

Jared thought about protesting against having the goblins going through his personal things but decided against it, after all he wouldn't put it past Dumbledore to try something like that and the safety of the Kingdom, the castle and his family came before any personal feelings of embarrassment he would have. He and his father then headed further into the bank to the special room for travel to the Underground and home.

xxxx

A/N Take a cyber-cookie from this big plate of them if you know where the title of this chapter came from *presents plate of cookies*

I also couldn't resist bringing out the childlike side of Harry/Jared with the snow, after all he is only eleven and who didn't love playing in the snow at that age.

OK I would now like to address some things I have had through some reviews from one very rude person so to those of you that have been lovely and loyal readers I apologies for the really long A/N that is to follow.

First of all I do not appreciate being shouted at when sent a review and yes writing in Caps when you clearly know where the key on your keyboard is to turn it off is called shouting. If my fic angers you then stop reading, there is no excuse for shouting at someone just because you do not like something being written.

This is **Fanfiction** what is written is my opinion and my thoughts on something, if you don't agree then don't read it there is no excuse for bad and rude behaviour like this, and to tack on a 'please note I am not religious' after invoking the name of someone from the bible to make your point only highlights how much of an idiot you are. I am religious, a catholic in fact and while swearing in the name of Moses didn't bother me this added note did as you made it sound offensive to be religious and was quite insulting to me. If you don't know the author you really shouldn't make comments like that if you don't want to offend someone.

Secondly I clearly say in the summary that there will be Weasley bashing in this fic, not Ron or Ginny but **Weasley** bashing so again don't go shouting at me because I attacked one you happen to like after clearly being warned. I will tell you now that my opinions of the Weasley's are as follows:

Arthur – He's a decent guy, bit of a wet blanket most of the time but I think he has a core of steel rarely seen.

Molly – Can't stand her, clearly thinks she always knows best and will not to listen to others, also either easily manipulated or happy to let others be manipulated (See below point for explanation)

Bill – No opinion as not really known.

Charlie – Same as Bill an unknown.

Percy – Complete prat not really well liked but necessary as someone needs to do all the paperwork in the world (Been there in that position myself)

Fred and George – Well liked but can have a tendency to go too far with pranks so could do with a talk about bullying and lines that shouldn't be crossed.

Ron – Can't stand him, lazy and bigoted in the extreme (Not all bigotry is for evil can go to the extreme in the other way.) Expects everything to be given to him without having to do any of the work for it.

Ginny – Fan girl, spoiled brat and far too obsessive and clearly thinks she deserves whatever she wants regardless of other peoples thoughts including those that she wants (Harry).

Now I like the Harry Potter books, I wouldn't write HP Fic if I didn't but anyone with half a brain can tell that JK, as good as she was had several huge plot holes through all of the books, it's what we fans use and take advantage of to write our fanfics after all. So with that in line:

Firstly in the books Harry has been kept from the wizarding world on purpose by Dumbledore, if that is so then how in the name of all that exists does everyone know exactly what he looks like on sight when no one has actually seen him before! Are you telling me that it is completely impossible for anyone else to have a scar on their forehead that can lead to mistaken identity? Yet everyone knows what he looks like so well that they mob him.

I live in England out national sport is Football (Soccer in America) it is constantly everywhere on TV, in newspapers even on advertising boards in some places but if any of the footballers from any of the most famous teams like Manchester United walked past me on the street I wouldn't recognise them, just because someone is well known and famous does not automatically mean they are recognisable to everyone no matter what they are famous for, even hero's!

I bring this up because this rude reviewer said that Ollivander should have immediately recognised him. I never wrote that he did or didn't only that he recognised the Goblin King so naturally he was polite to one who was clearly being treated and even named by the King as his son, even if he recognised him as Harry Potter he was still with a King, had been introduced as a prince and as such got treated in the correct manner, or would you like to be face to face with a King and rudely say to him "Of course I know he's half human I can see it's Harry Potter in front of me." Say that and see how long you stay 1) in business and 2) in the presence of the very people you have just insulted, especially when two of them are full Fae.

Secondly JK created one of the biggest plot holes for the first book when she did this next one. Molly has attended Hogwarts herself for seven years, she has then proceeded to send five children there and is about to send the sixth, she even comments on sending her seventh child there the following year so again in the name of all that exists how does she get away with asking at the top of her voice what the platform number is and comments on all the 'muggles' in the station (not in that order) without causing attention from said 'muggles' or the Ministry and not have the whole thing stink of a set up for Harry! If you like Molly fine just don't expect all us to like her when she is clearly happy for an innocent eleven year to be so badly manipulated.

Finally I would like to ask the very rude reviewer that caused this A/N just what is wrong with Hufflepuff? Or are you as bigoted and prejudiced as the rest of the wizarding world? You call them all weaklings but JK never actually told us anything about most of the characters in that house other than some names, and I would hardly call the niece of the head of the DMLE who is also raising her weak.

They are the house known for hard work and loyalty and last time I checked they are qualities that should be valued. Only those who are falling into the prejudiced and bigoted thinking of the wizarding world believe that they are a weak house, it's the same mentality that thinks all Slytherin's are evil, just because you value cunning and ambition does not make you evil.

Hard work, loyalty, ambition and cunning are qualities most peoples need to get at least semi decent positions in businesses or even government offices, not all government employees are evil politicians (Again someone needs to do the paperwork and it tends to be the admin workers but even they have quite a bit of competition for getting to be the workers to the senior members of the company/government office).

But even putting the prejudiced aside, their symbol is a badger, have you ever learned anything about these animals because if you did you would know they are not weak animals but can be quite ferocious predators if they need to be, mostly they will eat earth worms, fruit and other little bits they can get but if necessary they will also go for new born rabbits, voles, hedgehogs and moles, not to mention they have sharp teeth and claws which if used in a fight can be very lethal and deadly.

Rant over. Again sorry if you have been one of the lovely and loyal readers of my fic, to all you I have nothing but gratitude but this one reviewer just really got me worked up with their stupidity and I felt I had to say something.

Keep writing and have fun

V.


	26. Chapter 26 - Christmas Celebrations Pt1

Disclaimer: I can honestly say that after looking at my poor bank balance I do not own any of the characters that you see and recognise here from either Harry Potter or The Labyrinth, I am just having a little fun with them all

**Chapter Twenty-Six – Christmas Celebrations Pt1 - Christmas**

When they got to the castle Jared stood for a moments and closing his eyes he took a deep breath and savoured the taste of the hot dusty air. He immediately felt the welcome buzz on the edge of his senses that he knew was the presence of the Labyrinth. Opening his eyes he saw his father watching him in amusement, Jared just smiled up at him not caring what he looked like.

He had missed the Kingdom and its hot smell of dust and metal tang from the silly goblin army that lived in the city.

He had missed the tingle at the edge of his sense that was the presence of the Labyrinth tempting and teasing him to come run within it, he missed the constant buzz and hum that permeated the air from the hustle and bustle of the hopeless goblins as they rushed about trying to do their best on whatever chore they had.

These were the few goblins that were either too dumb to be trusted to work in the bank or had failed to be deemed competent enough for true goblin warrior training, but mostly they were the children that had been turned into goblins and so didn't have the natural-born sharp mind most members of the warrior race had.

Most of all he had missed the smiling face of not just his father but of the beautiful dark haired woman that stood at the doorway to the room they were in, "Sarah" he shouted before launching himself across and into her open waiting arms. She pulled him into a tight hug and murmured into his hair, "Welcome home Jared." They stayed like that for several moments.

As much as he enjoyed standing there watching them, Jareth finally had to break them apart by saying, "As lovely as this is I do believe there are others waiting for you."

Jared pulled back from Sarah and smiled at him with a nod but before moving out of her arms but he didn't leave the room, instead he faced his father again and with a serious face he asked, "Father before we do go meet the other can I ask, there was a wish recently wasn't there?" Jareth frowned at him but before he could say anything Jared carried on "It's just I can tell something has happened, it's in your eyes but you don't seem really angry just grumpy so it can't be something to do with running the Kingdom and the only thing it could be is a wish, you had to change them didn't you?"

Jareth gave a small sigh before stepping closer and resting a shoulder on his shoulder, "I forgot how perceptive you can be at times. Yes there was a wish and yes I had to change the child. Yesterday the wisher, a young boy declined the opportunity to run the Labyrinth as such I had to change his baby sister. This time it was to a creature of the Labyrinth, there is now a new member of the Fireys clan."

Jared gave him a sad smile now, "Then at least you know she will always be happy and have lots of fun playing games all day and that it is likely to be better than the life she would have had."

Jareth returned the sad smile with one of his own but it was Sarah that said, "That is very true Jared but as you know it still does not mean it is an easy duty for your father to fulfill and we just have to give him a couple of days as always."

"I know but asked because I wanted you to know that I understand why you may be grumpy and you don't have to hide it and try to force being happy all the time just because I've come home." Jared told them before moving to give them both a brief hug.

Jareth gave him a small genuine smile at his words, "Thank you Jared but I assure you I do not need to force being happy at you coming home no matter what duties I have had to perform."

"Come," Sarah said with her own smile in place "Your sisters and brother are waiting." She put her arm around Jared's shoulders as she guided him out of the room.

Every year the corridors and lesser rooms of the castle were decorated by the silly goblins, Jareth allowed them to do it mainly to keep them out of the way but this meant that the decorations were mostly dried out vines with bits of dirty dishes or pieces of metal tied up in to them.

The throne room, along with the more important rooms and the royal family quarters they had strict orders to leave alone and the family, or more accurately Sarah with some help from the children would decorate them. This year in honour of Jared becoming a Hufflepuff and after his brief descriptions in his letters home about his dorm, they had decided to use golds and yellows with black to highlight them and bring out the shine of the bright colours, along with soft green in the background thanks to the boughs and from the main tree.

In the throne room all the dirty rugs and covers had been removed and soft satin black pillows with stars in gold lined all of the benches and chairs, boughs twined around the high beams with globes of yellow and gold hung on them, a light in the centre of each glowing softly.

The throne itself was no longer draped in furs but now had a large gold seat cushion and a black with gold stars back cushion, just behind the throne is where the main tree sat.

It towered over them, not quite reaching the ceiling, leaving just enough room for the star that topped it. Tinsel wrapped around in, deep yellow with the occasional orange and red one mixed in, soft golden candlelight spread over it from the numerous lit candles attached to the branches and reflected off both the tinsel and the baubles which were in a range of yellows and golds.

Jared looked around at it all in awe, it was like walking into a warm bubble of light, and standing next to the throne hardly able to stand still they were so excited stood his two sisters and brother. They gave him a moment to take it all in before giving shrieks of delight and launching themselves across the room at him. They all went down together in a big tumble of arms, legs and laughter. It was exactly the kind of reunion Jared had been expecting, loud and boisterous.

Jared promptly initiated a tickle war with them and it was some time before it subsided, by then Jareth and Sarah had taken a seat with Jareth naturally on his throne, and watched the four of them with large smiles and amusement shining clear from their eyes.

After they had finally collapsed through exhaustion at laughing so much Jareth spoke, "Well now you terrors have worn each other out perhaps you will leave us alone with your brother so that we may tell him of the plans for this Christmas holiday."

They each gave him a cheeky grin before scampering off to find more mischief. Jared sat up and moved to a seat next to Sarah, straightening his clothing a little and running a hand through his messy hair in an attempt to tame it, his grin didn't falter as he turned curious eyes to his father.

"The council gathered two weeks ago to determine among other things where the annual Yule-tide ball will be held." Jareth began "I requested that we be the hosts this year and they accepted. As such the High Council, members of each of the royal families for all of the Kingdoms and many other important guests will come here on the evening of the 25th, I expect you to attend in your position as my Son and Heir."

Jared have a single nod at this having expected it as the ball happened every year, it was the location that changed every time and the only time he was ever excused attending was when it was held in the Dark Fae kingdom, his father claimed he was still too young in both age and power to travel there.

"Sarah will be organising the ball, as such while she will be around I ask that you try not to bother her too much as she will have a great deal to do, I am not sure if you remember what it was like the last time she organised the Yule-tide Ball as you were only seven at the time."

Jared again gave a nod and said, "I remember that there was a lot going on and I did my best to stay out of the way and concentrate on my studies, it was also the first one you let me attend although it was only for an hour or two." He finished with a cheeky smile.

"That was my decision" Sarah added, "your father wanted you to attend all night but I put my foot down and said that you were still too young, as it happened I was right, half an hour after you were sent to bed I slipped out to check on you and Lu in her crib to make sure the noise wasn't disturbing her. Like Lu you were fast asleep, the only difference being you were on top of your covers and still fully dressed."

Jared laughed having heard the story before.

"Yes well," Jareth said burying his irritation at being interrupted knowing he only felt that way due to still being unsettled from having to change a child. "In the mean time you have been invited to a quite a few balls and dinner parties by all of the wealthier wizarding families and even a few of the poorer ones. It was expected and after reading your letters I have declined on your behalf for all but the ones that came from those that shared a surname with your friends."

"Thank you father, I have to admit I'm tempted to say no to the ones from my friend's families as well. I just want to stay here and spend as much time as I have with all of you." Jared said as his smile dimmed a little at the thought about having to reject his friends, even if he knew they would all understand.

Sarah placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and with a gentle smile said, "We anticipated you would say that which is why your father has thought of a compromise."

Jareth gave him smile, "If you are truly sure you wish to say no and remain Underground for all of the holiday then I thought you might like to hold a party of your own. Of course it will have to be after the Yule-tide ball, due to the nature of the guest we will have that night I am sure you understand why we cannot invite them to it, but it does not mean we cannot have a second smaller party, perhaps to celebrate the Aboveground celebration known as New Year."

Jared didn't know what to say, he launched himself at his father and gave him a tight hug while repeating, "Thank you, thank you so much" over and over.

Jareth looked at Sarah over Jared's head and with suppressed laughter colouring his tone said, "I think he approves of the idea."

Jared pulled back and with a sheepish grin moved back to his seat, "Now" Jareth said, "As Sarah will have a great deal to do with the Yule-tide ball we will not be able to begin planning the one for you until that has been done, but you can make a list of all those you would like to attend."

"And" Sarah added, "If you can get the list to me by tomorrow night then I can included it in with the invites for the Yule-tide ball and have them made at the same time, just with a different date on them."

Jared immediately agreed that he could have the list ready by then for her, "Excellent," Jareth said, "other than the Yule-tide ball and your New Year party we are not planning on any other visits so you will have plenty of time to play with your sisters and brother, and I am sure some of your tutors would like to see you as well. In the meantime why don't you get changed and go for a run about in the Labyrinth, its call for you is starting become more than a little irritating." This last was said with an exasperated sigh.

Jared flashed another cheeky grin before thanking them both one last time and dashing off to his room to put on some clothes that would be more appropriate for a run around the Labyrinth, ones that it didn't matter if they got dirty or torn by some of the hazards or citizens of the great maze.

xx

The time seemed to fly past in a sense of never ending fun and games for Jared, it was broken by a few serious moments but these were only when he visited his old training masters and they each wanted to test him on his skills to make sure he wasn't forgetting what he had learned before leaving for Aboveground, as well as get a sense of what he would be ready for when he returned for the summer holidays and would once more become their student.

He also made sure to have a small presentation, with his father watching on in amusement from his throne, to his sister Luigsech. He apologised for it being a little delayed but he wanted to congratulate her on making Dame of Deception and to commemorate it by giving her a gift.

After the King and Queen of the Black Lake Mer-clan had given their approval for him to continue having contact with them he had made a request for a single black pearl, a gem he knew his sister did not have in her jewellery box but that they would have a far easier method of getting one then he could ever hope to have.

In exchange for it he would give them all his knowledge that he had of the news from the Underground Mer-clans, something he knew would be welcomed as the Mer-clans didn't tend to have good communication channels with the Underground clans, he had always wondered why but so far had yet to find an answer.

The deal also included a single goblin-made dagger with special underwater enchantments on it that he had had sent to him by his father, obviously he had told his father who it was for and vaguely why, the King had approved his request on the condition he be given a better explanation when Jared got home which he had since done.

The Mer King and Queen had granted him the request and once he had the pearl he had then used some seaweed and coral from the surrounding area to make a beautiful necklace with the pearl hanging from it as the pendant in its own little twist of coral. With the necklace in hand he had gone to Flitwick and the charms professor had then helped him to cast preservation and anti-dirt charms on it.

This ensured the seaweed and coral would never dry out and crumble and that it would always remain clean no matter how much dust and dirt it was exposed to if it was worn while running around the Labyrinth.

As soon as she saw the necklace, Luigsech had shrieked and thrown herself at him wrapping her arms around his neck in a tight hug and screamed down his ear how much she loved it. Jared had winced and simply requested that she not try and make him deaf or strangle him to death, after all she was a Princess and should maintain sense of decorum. She had laughed and after a smack to his arm for being silly run off to show her new necklace to Sarah.

Jareth had stepped down from his throne and resting his hand on Jared's shoulder simply said, "Well done, a perfect gift." He then left and headed back to his study and his own work.

Jared had been pleased not only at his sister's reaction but to his father's as well, he had as instructed given a better explanation as to why he wanted the dagger, but he had not told him exactly what the gift looked like and so to hear he approved of it meant the world to Jared.

Finally it was Christmas morning. As he did every year, Jared woke up early and crept out of his room, there he stopped and waited, soon he was joined by his siblings, including his little brother for the first time who had a determined look on his little face to make his big brother and sisters proud by being as quite as possible to prove they were right to let him join them this year.

Together they made sure to be as silent as they could be and approached their parent's room. Jared put his hand on the door handle and with his free hands began the count down from five. As soon as he hit zero he twisted the handle they all ran in and immediately jumped up onto the bed from all angles, letting out shrieks of joy and 'Merry Christmas' at the top of their voices.

Every year their parents were waiting for them, this year they were across the room Jareth lounging against the balcony wall while Sarah stood next to him her head resting on his shoulder, her soft smile off setting his smug smirk.

When they realised that they had failed in waking their parents, the four of them soon settled down and as he was the oldest it was always Jared that declared, "Next year you will be ours." Then they all got down and with their noses pointed in the air with an exaggerated look of being put out they trooped back out of the room and went to get dressed, although little Ikaros ruined it by running over and giving Sarah a quick hug and huge smile, before he re-joined the others with his own little put up act.

Soon they had reassembled in the family dining room for the traditional Christmas breakfast, unlike all the other mornings the children were allowed one small cup of warm mild cider with their food, again another first for Ikaros this year although he only had a half-cup of mild cider. After they had all eaten they moved to the throne room and the main tree where all the presents were put.

They moved behind the throne, and sat down around the tree, even Jareth didn't sit on his throne but on the floor with them, it was for this reason that during this time all of the Goblins were banned from entering the throne room on pain of being thrown in the Bog, after all it wouldn't do for them to see their ruler in such a vulnerable and compromising position.

As always Jareth would open the first present and without fail he would chose to open his beloved Queen's first. She had gotten him a new pair of gloves; these were in deep red leather with the image of an owl in flight embroidered on the back of the hands in black and white silk thread and very thin gold wire used to highlight the feathers around the head making it look exactly like Jareth in his owl form. The cuffs reached up to just beyond the wrist ending about halfway up the forearms and here in thin silver wire threads the royal crest of the Goblin King had been embroidered.

"They are beautiful Sarah." He murmured before leaving over and giving her a short kiss, she smiled back at him pleased; she always found it so difficult to get something for Jareth even after all these years.

With the first present opened the children knew they could now start tearing into all of the others and soon wrapping paper laid strewn all around, new clothes were being admired by the girls, as were the new earrings Jareth had gotten for Sarah.

Jared and his little brother were playing with the miniature toy goblin army that Ikaros had received from Jareth, a little war had broken out between them and they were fighting furiously for domination of the area surrounding the throne. Jareth had now moved to sit on his throne and watched the mini war develop, occasionally flicking miniature crystal bombs down at both sides.

Eventually it was decided that they had all played with their presents enough and it was time to visit the Labyrinth and its denizens. Presents were gathered up and taken back to their rooms where they all changed.

Jareth into a white shirt, dark blue waistcoat and pale grey leggings with soft black leather boots and a short red leather jacket and his new gloves, while Sarah put on a loose gown of pale green, that gathered just under her bust, where a band of gold thread had been woven into high band before it fell straight down in soft folds to the top of her ankles and soft dark green leather slippers, that were edged with matching god thread.

When they re-joined the children they saw they wore clothing similar to their own but with small differences.

Jared had chosen a dark purple waistcoat and black leggings with soft lilac coloured leather boots and a black leather coat.

Ikaros was in a cream shirt but being the youngest didn't have a waistcoat on, he did match his father in the colour of leggings but only had black pumps on instead of boots, he also only had a little black Jacket made of soft material instead of a leather one.

Luigsech, the eldest daughter was in a pale rose pink dress with slightly deeper pink leather slippers and finally Ethnah had chosen a dress in pale blue with deep blue leather slippers. They two girls wore dresses that were in the same style as Sarah's but had silver thread highlights instead of gold.

Normally the girls would never have worn such formal dresses when going into the Labyrinth, they were just too hard to run around in, but at Christmas they had too as this was a formal visit from the rulers to their subjects and so nothing less than regal dignity could be seen by all.

Looking over them all Jareth gave a nod of approval and they headed out, a goblin guard in full armour rushing before them waving banners and blowing trumpets to announce their arrival, the better trained Goblin Warriors were hidden from view making sure nothing threatened the royal family and would only be seen if anything did.

All throughout the Labyrinth parties were being held and they slowly made their way around them, Jareth always did his best to remain aloof at them and gave a couple of comments to the hosts, but otherwise he just watched as Sarah, in her sweet and gentle way would speak to the party-goers and accept the small gifts they would be given, nothing fancy usually just a few flowers or pieces of fruit in little baskets with ribbons, though no one ever dared gave them peaches as it was well known it was the one fruit neither would touch after what had happened during Sarah's own run.

Once accepted these would then be handed to one of the small group of Fae servants that followed them from the castle. Sarah had hired them from her blood-sister Valentia not long after becoming Queen claiming that she wanted some competent servants to help her run the castle and not have to do it all herself while chasing the useless goblins away from her efforts.

Jared's sisters and brother would run off and play games with some of the younger members of the parties for as long as they were there, but since the previous year Jared recognised that he was starting to get too old to do that now and had to begin separating himself a little more like his father, they may have been his friends any other day but on formal visits like this they were his future subjects.

He was still polite and far more talkative than his father, but it was with regret that he couldn't run away with the younger children to play games but remained with the older ones now, he was still younger than most of them but he had the status of his rank to mark him as one of them and not a little child.

Traveling the Labyrinth took them most of the afternoon and when they returned to the castle they all sat down in the family dining room for a short meal together before they all went to their own rooms, in the case of Jareth, Sarah, and Jared it was to prepare for the Yule-tide ball as the guests were soon due to arrive.

xxxx

A/N Eeep sorry everyone things have been a bit all over the place for me at the moment and it has resulted in me missing the last few updates, unfortunately it doesn't look like things are going to settle down for me for a few weeks so I am going to hold off updating for the next three weeks. Hopefully I will be able to get back to the Monday and Friday updates again by that point.

And so we have now met the whole family, just so you all know I have worked them out to be:

Jareth – King and Father age unknown

Sarah – Queen and mother (Twenty something but now Full Fae so an age difference is no longer considered strange and she has a maturity to her now as a result of being a Queen for several years now that makes her seem older)

Harry/Jared –Crown Prince and Heir aged eleven

Luigsech – Eldest sister aged Six

Ethnah – Second sister aged Four

Ikaros – Younger brother aged Three

Thank you to everyone that is still reading, reviewing, favouriting and following this it really means a lot to me.

Keep writing and have fun

V.


	27. Chapter 27 - Christmas Celebrations Pt2

Disclaimer: I can honestly say that after looking at my poor bank balance I do not own any of the characters that you see and recognise here from either Harry Potter or The Labyrinth, I am just having a little fun with them all

**Chapter Twenty-seven – Christmas Celebrations Pt2 – The Yule-tide ball**

Jared stood in front of the full length mirror in his bedroom and checked that nothing was out of place. He was dressed in a soft pale green button down shirt with a deep emerald green waistcoat black sequins adorned it in a twisting pattern up the front, Sarah told him the deep green colour helped to bring out his eyes. A black cloak hung to mid-calf from his shoulders, sequins that matched the green of his waistcoat were in the pattern of the family crest on the back, two sliver clasps on the shoulders, the imprint of the family crest on both held it attached to the soft black leather coat he wore. Tight dark green leather trousers with black soft suede knee high boots and soft black leather gloves with small emeralds embedded around the edges finished the look.

Generally he hated wearing any jewellery but for formal functions such as the Yule-Tide ball there were a few mandatory pieces his father made him wear. As such he wore a silver chain around his neck which fell to the centre of his chest with a silver disc that had the family crest done in gold wire hanging from it, this matched the silver signet ring he wore on his right ring finger denoting he was the Heir to the throne. The only jewellery he had chosen for himself to wear were his earrings, two small chips of emeralds in one ear, one on the lobe as a stud and one on a small silver hoop at the top of the same ear, these had been presents from Sarah when he had attended his first Yule-tide ball at the age of seven and even if they did not match whatever he was wearing he always insisted on having them on to any formal function he was forced to attend.

He adjusted the silver chain slightly, out of all the jewellery he wore it was the one he hated the most, behind him his eldest sibling, Luigsech sat on his bed, "It's just so unfair, I'm old enough to go to the ball."

Jared gave a small sigh and turned to face her, "Lu you know father's rule, no one under the age of six is allowed to attend. He could hardly enforce the rule with the other Kingdom's if he let you attend. It's only one more year and as long as it's not in the Dark Fae's kingdom you'll get to go to next year's ball." He moved over to where she was sitting, "And that is still one better than me, I didn't get to go until I was seven. Come on Lu, I bet mum will let you help her put her jewellery on."

He held a hand out to the pouting princess and reluctantly she took it and jumped down off the bed. He took her out of his room and down the hallway to their parents room, a quick knock and permission to enter saw them heading inside.

Sarah sat at her dressing table, she had just finished applying her make-up and smiled at them as she saw their reflection in her mirror, turning around she said, "You look lovely Jared, are you finished getting ready?"

He gave her a nod, "Yeah, Lu was helping me finish making sure everything was in place and I thought since she did a great job helping me she might be able to help you with your jewllery."

He gave her a pleading look over the top of his sister's head and Sarah easily picked up on what he was doing, Luigsech had been begging her to go to the ball since they had announced to the family that they would be hosting it this year. She gave her daughter a large smile and with a subtle dismissing gesture to her own lady in waiting that had been about to retrieve her jewellery case said, "Of course, come here sweetheart you can help me pick out what goes with my dress best, Jared why don't you go wait with your father in the entrance hall?"

He gave her a grateful smile before agreeing and leaving them to it. He found his father standing over three goblins a deep frown of annoyance on his face as they knelt before him begging for forgiveness.

His father was dressed in a similar fashion to his own, the differences being that his shirt was white and where he wore dark green Jareth wore deep sapphire blue, his jewellery was done in gold instead of silver and his gold signet ring was on his left ring finger with his wedding ring just in front of it. Jareth had the addition of a golden circlet, with a deep blue almost black sapphire stone set in the centre that sat lightly on his head and while it looked easy to knock off Jared knew that nothing but Jareth's own Will could make his crown move from that position.

Jared was thankful that he wouldn't have to wear the silver version of the crown, showing him to be the Crown Prince of the Kingdom until he was at least sixteen, for now the chain and ring were deemed sufficient to denote his place as Heir.

The deep scowl on his father's face told Jared that if he wanted to spare the poor goblins from being dunked in the Bog he had better get over there quick.

"Father" he called out as he walked over, "What's the problem?"

Jareth looked at him and in an ice cold voice said, "These imbeciles have managed to cause a house to collapse over the main road through the city that all of the guests will be using to arrive, the first ones most likely to do so in ten minutes."

Jared flinched, ok so maybe he wouldn't be able to save the goblins from the bog, "I can try and clear it, we learned a levitation spell at school and it would be good practice for me." His tone changed from one of suggestion to shrewdly saying, "Unless you wanted to clear it and get dust all over you while in the city, as well as risk not being here on time to great everyone too, after all some do teleport rather than use a carriage. You know it's a little more acceptable for me to be late to the greeting then you."

Jareth gave a light grimace, "Very well, but if you have not returned in fifteen minutes I will send one of Sarah's personal servants to deal with it."

Jared gave a short bow of acknowledgement before telling the bowing goblins to show him where the collapsed house was.

Two minutes later and he was stood before an almighty mess, when the goblins collapse a house they really know how to bring the thing down. Jared waved the goblins that were working on the rubble to the side and pulled his wand out from the new holster his father had gotten him for Christmas.

Concentrating on as much as the rubble he could instead of just the one boulder he gave the graceful swish and flick movement and clearly incanted, "Wingardum Leviosa" he felt the gentle tingle of the magic flowing through his body before traveling down his arm and into his wand.

The goblins watched in awe as their Prince made half of the rubble rise up and float in the air with nothing but a stick, they were so used to him doing any kind of magic in the same way as his father and as they had never seen him use his human magic or a wand before it fascinated their simple minds.

Using his wand Jared directed the rubble over and away to one of the side roads that wouldn't be used. As soon as it was out of the way he released the spell and all of the rubble dropped, turning he cast the spell again and the remaining rubble rose into the air, quickly he moved and dropped it off with the rest to the side. He had to lean forward and put his hands on his knees for a few moments as a feeling of tiredness passed through him and he briefly felt light headed, he hadn't expected using the spell to take so much energy from him.

As he caught his breath back he saw that he had moved all of the rubble just in time as a carriage pulled by four white horses came up the main road, as it passed by Jared saw the crest for the royal family of the Dwarf Kingdom on the side of the door, but with the curtains inside closed was unable to see the occupants themselves.

He left the goblins to clear up the moved rubble and make sure the rest of the road had nothing else on it that could cause any further problems and made his way back to the castle. He slipped back into the entrance hall and moved over to where the host's greeted the incoming guests.

Sarah was now stood next to Jareth and she all but glowed in her deep gold dress. It sat just off her shoulders and was tight to her torso, her bust pushed up slightly to give just enough cleavage to add a slight curve to the top of the dress but not so much as to appear sleazy. At her hips the dress flared slightly before it fell in soft folds to the top of her ankles. She had short heels in a matching gold on her feet, and wore a delicate anklet in both yellow and rose gold twisted together with small rubies and garnets.

She had long white gloves that reached up to her elbows, with her gold wedding band as the only jewellery on her left hand but around her right wrist was a matching bracelet of yellow and rose gold with more rubies and garnets set around it. Her necklace and earrings also matched with their own yellow and rose gold twist with rubies and garnets set into them, Jareth had given her the whole set just that night after he had finished getting ready, telling her that he had chosen the stones as he thought they brought out the hazel in her eyes. The only jewellery that differed from the set was the slightly thinner gold circlet and therefore smaller deep blue almost black sapphire that sat lightly on her head.

They were just greeting the King and Queen of the Dwarfs along with their own Prince so he held back slightly but as soon as the Dwarfs had moved on Jared finished heading over to them.

Jareth looked at him as he approached and raised an eyebrow in question, Jared merely gave a nod back as he quietly said, "All clear there should be no problems with anyone getting through."

His father gave him a small smile and flicked his fingers at Jared removing the small amount of dust that had gathered on him. He smiled his own thanks before moving into place besides Sarah to do his duties as the Prince and Heir in greeting guests as they arrived.

Eventually it was decided that all guests to be greeted had arrived and so they moved to the main ballroom, three large chandeliers hung from the ceiling with each holding at least two hundred candles and lit the ball room with a soft golden glow, more candles in holders around the wall aided in making sure there was more than enough light to see by.

Like the throne room the decorations were mainly black, yellow or gold with touches of green to symbolise the re-birth they were there to celebrate. The windows had deep green boughs around them and baubles in yellow and black hung on them, seats lined the walls with black with gold stars or pure gold pillows to cushion them. The drapes on the windows were deep almost black green to match the bough, stars in gold embroidered on them.

High up on the small balcony designed for a small orchestra, green boughs were wrapped around the edge and again were hung with baubles in black and yellow as well as some gold stars and they had some candles threaded in to add to the glow of the room. Music drifted down from there soft and subtle perfect for background noise to the chatting guests.

This now fell silent as Jareth and Sarah entered, Jared close behind them but where he stopped just inside the door Jareth and Sarah continued on to the middle of the dance floor.

They stopped and Jareth addressed them all, "My dear Lords and Ladies of all the Kingdoms, I and my Queen Sarah welcome you to the Goblin Kingdom at this time of Yule. We celebrate tonight to mark the recent Winter Solstice and so the beginning of the change from one season to another. Please drink, eat and be merry, let nothing but friendship be shared amongst us all on this night." With that he gave a short bow and Sarah an elegant curtsey before they stepped into each other's arms and Jareth gave a nod to the small orchestra which immediately struck up a waltz and they began to spin about the dance floor.

As the Prince and Heir of the hosting Kingdom it was Jared's duty to be the next on the dance floor, so stepping up to one of the princess's from the Unicorn Kingdom he gave a short bow and asked the eldest Aoibheann, if she would honour him with a dance. He always made it a point to ask her first as she was not only the eldest daughter of his aunt, Queen Valentia but also one of the few females from all of the royal families that he got on and was friends with.

She was four years older than him and never let him forget it, but for all the teasing she did about his age she was his best friend after his own sisters and brother in the Underground. Tonight she looked lovely in her deep purple gown that really bought out the bright blue of her eyes and he easily complimented her on it, but at the same time knew he preferred her in the light dresses she wore for her everyday clothing.

Had he been a couple of years older he was sure he would have a full blown crush on her like the boys from the Dark Fae Kingdom, he had overheard them once talking about her when he had been visiting his aunt at the same time as they had and some of the things they talked about had not only made him blush a deep red but shudder in fear for her as well.

Thankfully he had been hidden at the time and they had not seen him, as soon as they had moved on he had gone straight to his aunt and Aoibheann and told them of what he had heard, they had shared a worried look before thanking him for telling them and that they would deal with it. He never really did find out what had happened, maybe one day he would find the courage to ask, his aunt could be really scary at times even if she was the Queen of such a light Kingdom.

They walked out onto the dance floor and easily fell into the steps together, they talked easily moving quickly through the usual small talk people make but before they could start on anything beyond that the dance ended and Jared had to escort her off the floor, it would be insulting to the other guests if he only danced with one partner and so with promises of catching up later he moved off to complete his princely duties.

It was three hours later before he finally got a chance to get a drink and a sit down in one of the side rooms set up for people that wanted to talk and so the music was muted and harder to hear in them. Aoibheann soon joined him, along with a few of his other friends and they spent the next hour catching up, going over what had been happening in the Kingdoms from their point of views as well as finding out what Aboveground was like from Jared, or at least the bits of it he had seen.

So far none of them had been allowed there, they were told they either were too young or that as Fae did not belong Aboveground anymore and generally could only go there if it was in connection to royal duties.

The only other ways to go there would be if they were summoned by a mortal who knew their name or had permission from their King or Queen to travel there which due to Fae law was not likely to happen unless they went to war with Aboveground.

Finally midnight came and Jared was summoned by his father to the entrance hall to begin bidding guests goodbye as they started to leave, again he took up position just behind Sarah and formally bowed to all the other rulers and wished them a safe and speedy journey home.

Two thirds of the guests had gone when Sarah noticed he was starting to fall asleep on his feet and after a brief word in Jareth's ear tapped him on the shoulder and told him he could go and that they would see off the last of the guests without him. He gave her a grateful and sleepy smile before bowing to his father and leaving.

In his room he finally allowed just how exhausted he was show and just managed to pull off his jewellery and clothes, get change into his pyjamas and crawl under his quilt before falling into a deep sleep.

xx

The morning after the Yule-Tide ball saw a grumpy Jareth entering his office, a large goblet of steaming coffee in hand, Sarah had introduced him to the beverage and he found it particular good after a late night, especially when heavy drinking had been involved and he woke up with a hangover, even one as mild as his current one.

Normally the morning after the Yule-Tide he would have a crippling hangover from the heavy drinking he would do throughout the night, generally from trying to outdrink his Dark Fae cousins but being the host of it this year meant that he had been forced to moderate his drinking this time.

Settling behind his desk he started to work through all the built up incoming post, like with family birthday's Jareth always took the day of Christmas and the Yule-tide ball off so the pile was larger than usual. It was an hour later when he found the letter from the director of the England branch of Gringotts.

_King Jareth of the Goblin Kingdom, Lord of the Labyrinth, Duke of Deceit, Member of the Underworld Council, Owner and Chief Executive Officer of Gringotts Majesty,_

_We received a parcel on the 24__th__ December addressed to Prince Jared, as per your orders we cast the necessary detection charms for any possible tracking charms, upon finding several we proceeded to intensify the scan upon both the wrapper, contents (one Invisibility cloak) and the letter attached._

_We detected the following:_

_Mild tracking charm level one – Placed on string used to tie parcel_

_Mild compulsion charm level one – Placed on string used to tie parcel_

_Medium tracking charm level three – Placed on wrapper_

_Medium compulsion charm level three – Placed on wrapper_

_Medium mind altering charm level two – Confirmed to induce blurring of memories – Placed on wrapper_

_Strong tracking charm level three – Placed on attached letter_

_Strong compulsion charm level three – Placed on attached letter_

_Strong mind altering charm level three – Confirmed to induce blurring of memories –Placed on attached letter_

_Strong tracking Charm level five – Placed on contents, Invisibility cloak_

_Strong tracking potion level six blood based (Ministry classified illegal short term 6-12 months in minimum security wing Azkaban) – Soaked into contents, Invisibility cloak_

_Strong compulsion potion level six blood based (Ministry classified illegal medium term 12 -18 months medium security wing Azkaban) – Soaked into contents, Invisibility cloak_

_Strong loyalty potion level six blood based (Ministry classified illegal medium term 12-18 months in medium security wing Azkaban) – Soaked into contents, Invisibility cloak_

_Strong mind altering potion level five blood based – Confirmed to alter perception of one potion is keyed to (Ministry classified illegal long term 3-4 years in maximum security wing Azkaban) – Soaked into contents, Invisibility cloak_

_Strong mind altering potion level five blood based – Confirmed to blur memories of one potion is aimed at (Ministry classified illegal long term 3-4 years in maximum security wing Azkaban) – Soaked into contents, Invisibility cloak_

_Further investigation has confirmed the blood used was for Harry Potter before his blood adoption to become Prince Jared, this was confirmed through the records you provided six years ago for comparison to be used on all parcels that were sent to Prince Jared and where blood based potions were detected._

_We have also identified the magical signature of Albus Dumbledore as the caster of all the charms and as the one the loyalty and the mind altering potions are keyed to, again confirmed through records taken when the Hogwarts accounts were adjusted to recognise Albus Dumbledore as the current account holder._

_All items have been placed into separate holding boxes, charms and potions intact should confirmation of their existence be required. These boxes are now being held in a secure vault that can only be accessed by me or Your Majesty._

_We have created a copy of all magic detected, who the charms and potions were aimed at along with who cast them and the potions were keyed to. You have but to issue the order and I will see this information sent to the Head of the Magical Law Enforcement office._

_In line with the articles of the treaty created between the Wizarding world and the Goblin Nation the casting of these spells and the use of the potions upon our Prince can be construed as a declaration of war, forgive me sire if I seem presumptuous but I believe this could work in your favour in relation to recent plans being made with Professors McGonagall, Sprout and Flitwick._

_I await your orders on what to do with the items._

_Your humble subject and servant_

_Chairgoblin Golgribble_

Gringotts – England Branch

Jareth was furious, this was reflected moments later by the sudden earthquake that shook the whole Labyrinth as his anger flowed down his connection to it, the sentience of the Labyrinth not only felt his anger but could detect it was in relation to threats to Jared.

Sarah came into the office moments later, concern clear on her face, "Jareth what's wrong? Has something happened?"

He looked up at her, it had been a several years since she had seen such anger in him. The last time she could remember him being this angry was back when one of the Dark Fae princes had tried to kidnap their oldest daughter not long after she was born to try and cast a binding spell over her so that when she was older she would have to marry him or lose her power and become mortal, thankfully they had found them in time to stop the spell from being cast and rescued her.

She moved over to him, walking around the desk to place a hand on his shoulder, "Jareth, these days you only get this angry when it concerns one of the children. What has happened? Which of our children are being threatened?"

Without a word he passed the letter to her, it only took a moment for her to read it. As soon as she was finished the entire castle shook in relation to her own anger being released. Unlike Jareth who was tied to the Labyrinth and the Kingdom, Sarah had more of a connection to the castle being the Lady of the Household.

"Destroy him Jareth." Her voice was ice cold when she spoke, "Destroy him Aboveground or bring him here so that I may do it before you drop what remains of his carcass in the bog." She looked down into his eyes her anger burning as bright as his, "That this mortal has dared to try and cast such magic on our Jared, to control him in this way…"

Jared took the letter from her, placing it on his desk and stood pulling her into his arms. He could feel her shaking from anger, his beautiful sweet Sarah so caring and gentle was truly terrifying if ever angered.

He had always figured it was due to having once been mortal and then turned into a member of the Fae, a species whose magic could be heavily influenced by their emotions, for a mortal turned into one of them it usually resulted in their natural emotional tendencies being amplified.

It was why Sarah was such a beloved Queen by their subjects because her natural sweet caring nature was amplified, but the underlying strength she had was also amplified and this was only ever seen when someone dared to threaten someone or thing that she held dear to her heart.

"Soon," He whispered into her ear, "Soon my sweet I will do as you ask, but he is powerful, both magically and politically Aboveground and I must tread carefully when dealing with such enemies. I do not have the power Aboveground I would need to take him right now." He had pulled back by this point and was looking her in the eye as he said all this, his own anger and frustration at being restricted showing clear. "If I were to travel there and attack him I would be violating several of our laws and the consequences would be great, not just for me but for our family and the Kingdom."

Sarah gave a resigned sigh and a weak smile, "I know Jareth, but to know what that wizard has tried to do, I almost want to stop Jared from returning there at the end of the Christmas holiday."

He stepped back and sat back down at in his chair, although he made sure to keep a hold of one of her hands. "I wish the same, but he must be trained in his human magic and he has formed friendships at Hogwarts I am loathe to remove him from as it does him good to have friends that he can connect with through his human heritage."

She returned his grim look with another stronger smile, "I know and I understand that, if you need my help in any way you know you have but to ask. For now I will it leave it with you, I had better go and start the preparations for Jared's ball with his friends."

Jareth gave a nod of his head to her and she left the office while Jareth pulled out a clean piece of parchment and wrote his answer to the letter, he decided it was time to speak to a member of the law enforcement service, he may not be able to do anything himself but he could get things started and thanks to a friendship Jared had formed he knew exactly who he wanted to speak to.

_Amelia Bones_

_Regent of House Bones and Head of Magical Law Enforcement._

_Greetings to you,_

_I have recently received information from one of the directors of my bank Gringotts in relation to a threat that has been aimed at my Son and Heir, Prince Jared._

_As my son is half-human I request your presence to discuss the matter of these threats as they have originated from a human Wizard._

_If you agree to meet with me please send a reply of acceptance to the director of Gringotts, England branch that you will meet with me in two days' time at 11 o'clock in the morning._

_Signed,_

_King of the Goblins, Lord of the Labyrinth, Duke of Deceit, Member of the Underworld Council, Owner and Chief Executive Officer of Gringotts Bank._

He folded it and marked it as post that was to be sent urgently before dropping it into his out tray, there it would automatically appear on the desk of the director Golgribble for sending, with that done he forced himself to push the issue from his mind and concentrated on the rest of his work.

xxxx

A/N And so the start to the consequences for Dumbledore's actions that you have all been asking for begins :)

Things have been really hectic in the real world for me, add in some writers block and I'm not doing that much writing at the moments and I always like to be at least two chapters ahead of what is being posted, as such it might be a few weeks again before the next chapter is posted, on the plus side the next couple of chapters have actually turned out to be twice as long as the usual chapters so while you may have to wait for them they are going to be longer ones :)

A lot of people have also been commenting in the reviews how any potions Dumbledore makes won't have any effect on Jared because of the blood adoption ritual, something I thought I should clear up.

When the blood adoption ritual was done Harry/Jared was made to put some of his own blood in the stone goblet something that was not a part of the original ritual and something Sarah didn't do with her own ritual. This was to ensure a couple of things. 1) That Harry/Jared remained half human to keep his magic intact. This was important as the Underground Council knew he would need it to fulfill the prophecy. 2) To ensure that he could still claim his title as head of the Potter family Harry/Jared needed to have Potter blood within him still. If he had not added some to the stone goblet he would have only drunk Jareth's blood and so would have been completely changed, no more Potter blood and no more human blood or magic.

Because of these points any blood that Dumbledore took from baby Harry before he went to the Dursleys will still have an effect on Harry/Jared. It won't be to the same degree that it would have been before the adoption but there will still be an effect as Harry/Jared still has Potter blood in him and so the magic of the potion will work on that part of him, thankfully because he is also Half-Fae through Jareth's blood the effect would be decreased, and depending on the strength of the magic involved possible for him to throw off the effects.

Now before any of you then start asking that as Jareth drank from the stone goblet does this mean he is now Half-human I would like to point out that I am assuming that due to the intent of the magic and ritual that the human blood would have no effect on him and he only drank to ensure the magic of the ritual was confirming and recognising him as the one intended to be the adopting parent and not the one to be changed. Yes this does also mean that Sarah has no official claim over Harry/Jared but due to her marriage to Jareth and friendship with Harry/Jared she still considered him her son anyway and Harry/Jared her as his Stepmum in all ways.

I hope all of this makes everything clear.

Keep writing and have fun

V.


	28. Chapter 28 - Christmas Celebrations Pt3

Disclaimer: I can honestly say that after looking at my poor bank balance I do not own any of the characters that you see and recognise here from either Harry Potter or The Labyrinth, I am just having a little fun with them all

This chapter is dedicated to **Carmynsorena **for the lovely PM they sent me recently that got me back into writing. Thank you your words meant so much to me :)

**Chapter Twenty-Eight – Christmas Celebrations Pt3 – Intermission**

Amelia Bones was unsure about what she was doing and she hated being unsure about anything. She had received a letter two days ago that she suspected was a prank but due to her sense of professionalism felt compelled to make sure that there was no substance to the threats that had been mentioned in it. Therefore she had sent a reply that she would go to Gringotts and so here she was walking into the building at five to eleven.

She was about to move to the nearest teller that had no ques in front of them when she was approached by one of the goblin guards that are always stationed around the room. It gave a short bow to her and said, "Greetings Madam Bones, if you will follow me the Director is waiting."

She returned the short bow with one of her own a look of surprise flickering across her face, it was rumoured that the Directors of Gringotts Bank formed a council and helped advise the ruler of the Goblin Nation, another rumour had it that the current ruler was called Ragnok but the truth was he was merely the most senior Director and ran the Branch in Berlin, Germany.

Either way it was well known that the Directors of the Gringotts Branches never saw humans as a form of protest at the way humans treated Goblins, they didn't even know the name of the Directors thought she suspected her Australian and American counterparts may know theirs as out of anywhere in the world they were the countries that tended to get on with the Goblins better.

Keeping her tone calm and polite she said, "Greetings," but then hesitated a moment before asking, "If I am to see the Director will I have to surrender my wand?"

The goblin guard seemed impressed that she had asked, "No madam Bones, it has been decided that you are to be allowed to keep it."

She gave a single nod of her head in acknowledgment and followed as he took her through one of the doors out of the room. She had expected to be led down deep into the bank but was instead escorted up several staircases. The higher up they went she noticed more and more guards at the entrances to each floor, finally they came to the top floor.

She could only see two doors on this floor, both of which had guards standing on either side in full armour and with battle axes on their backs and in their hands, short swords also hung on their waists, one of the pair at each door also had a deep blue stipe across the breast plate that was imprinted with a crest she had never seen before, at least not until a week ago when her niece received a strange party invite and the letter she had gotten a couple of days ago.

She didn't know it but the guards with the deep blue stipe were the magical warriors of the Goblin Nation, they were the ones trained in battle magic and the deadliest members of the Kings army, they were also clan-less unlike other goblins.

As soon as they were identified as magic users when young they no longer belonged to one clan but to all goblin clans, the King had decreed it to be that way to ensure that no one clan would ever have the strongest magic users in it and use them to wipe out any of the other clans. Instead they were sent to the training academy that was on the other side of the Kingdom, out of sight of the castle and the Labyrinth to ensure no wishers ever saw it and taught control and use of their gifts, any goblin with magic that was not strong enough to become a Warrior was trained in either the field of healing or crafting.

Amelia was shown through one of the guarded doors and found herself in a very luxurious and opulent office. The floor was covered with a thick deep red carpet, while several pictures of famous painters, both magical and non-magical were arranged on the walls that showed them in the best light. A large English oak desk sat under a large circular window, Amelia wasn't sure but she thought it looked like the window you see when approaching the bank and suspected if she were to go and look out of it she would see all of Diagon Alley below.

Sat behind the desk was a goblin dressed in a long sleeved, soft brown leather shirt and had Amelia been able to see underneath the desk would have seen trousers of the same soft brown leather while on a stand behind him there was set of full armour within easy reach should the need to put it on quickly occurred.

He looked up at her and gestured to one of the comfortable arm chairs that were placed in front of his desk, "Madam Bones please come in and have a seat."

She gave a short bow before moving to one of the seats, making herself comfortable in one. While she did the goblin that had escorted her hurried over and whispered something to the Director.

When the guard was done he quickly left, the Director regarded the witch in front of him for a few moments before saying "I am Director Golgribble of the England branch of Gringotts, I would like to thank you for offering to surrounding your wand, not many witches or wizards would do so."

Amelia gave him a smile, "It's also not every witch and wizard that's gets to meet with the Director, or receives a letter from one that signs it as the King of the Goblins."

He gave a chuckle, "No I am sure they don't, I assure you the identity of the author of your letter is genuine, he is my Lord and King, though he is not of the Goblin race himself. Very few know of his existence, to most he is just a fairy tale told to children." He grew serious as he said, "He has made me aware of his request to meet with you, unfortunately he is unable to travel here to do so but has asked if you are willing to allow you to travel to him."

Amelia couldn't help looking both surprised and wary at this, "Your King is not a goblin?" That immediately dispelled the rumour in her mind about Ragnok being the leader of the Goblin Nation, "And just where would I be traveling to if I agree?"

Golgribble gave her a smile of his own, although it did look a little sinister this time as he knew full well all about the rumours and what she was most likely thinking but not correcting her about Ragnok's status as current leader of the Aboveground Goblins after their King, "No he is not but by his own decree I am forbidden from ever revealing what race he is from.

You need not fear about where you would be travelling to Madam Bones as the trip is short though some would say the distance great but once again I am forbidden from naming it without His Majesties authorisation. His majesty has also told me to reassure you that you will be protected under the ancient laws of hospitality while in his castle and Kingdom."

Amelia frowned, very few people followed the old laws these days, they were taught to all who would be Head of House and as Regent for the Bones House she knew them so to be told that she would be protected by them left her still wary but also intrigued as to who or what kind of person would invoke them.

Taking a deep breath she gave a single nod of her head she decided to take the gamble, "Very well I accept the Kings invitation" she glanced down at her robes and couldn't help asking, "Are my clothes ok or do I need to go home and get changed if I am to meet a King?"

Golgribble gave another chuckle, "There is no need to change, your attire is fine, His Majesty is only picky when it comes to his own clothes," He gave her another large grin as he said, "But you did not hear that from me, I quite like being able to be near people and if he heard what I said he would drop me in the Bog of Eternal Stench." He couldn't stop the slight shudder as he said this last bit.

Amelia raised an eyebrow at him but didn't say anything, Golgribble stood and moved around his desk gesturing her to follow him. She stood and he led her out of his office and to the second heavily guarded door on that floor.

Opening it he turned to her and said, "Once you are in this room and the door has closed simply say, 'I, Madam Amelia Bones, Regent for the House of Bones and Head of the Department for Magical Law Enforcement have an appointment with the King of the Goblins', the room will do the rest."

Amelia looked in at the plain white room before looking down at him curiously, "You're not coming?"

Golgribble shook his head, "I have not been granted permission by His Majesty to travel. You are to go alone."

Amelia pulled herself up straight and with a last look at him stepped into the room, Golgribble swung the door shut behind her and she moved to the middle of the room. After glancing at the door and feeling a little silly said clearly, "I, Madam Amelia Bones, Regent for the House of Bones and Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement have an appointment with the King of the Goblins"

The walls seemed to glow brighter a little for a moment but otherwise nothing changed and she was unsure if whatever was supposed to happen had worked, until the door was opened by the scruffiest goblin she had ever seen, even his amour seemed dirty and well used but not from battle.

It gave a very low bow, so low his ears seemed to brush the floor as he gave a cackle and in a high squeaky voice said, "Follow me His Majesty is waiting." Before scuttling out of the doorway, she quickly followed him and found herself having to walk quite fast to keep up with him.

The corridors made her think of being in a very old castle, although they appeared to be relatively clean they clearly had a lived in look to them, after all Sarah could only do so much after so many years of neglect by the hopeless goblins.

The goblin stopped in front of a dark, solid looking door and knocked several times before he scuttled off away back down the corridor. A muffled 'Enter' was heard from within the room so Madam Bones steeled herself once more and pushed it open to step inside.

The office she stepped in was a lot less luxurious then Golgribbles, it had a much more practical air to it, reminding her of her own in the Ministry. The figure behind the desk looked up, saw her standing in the doorway and put the quill he had been using down to sit back in his seat.

Amelia stepped further into the room, closing the door behind her before giving an awkward curtsey and saying, "Your Majesty, thank you for seeing me."

He gave a brief shallow bow of his head as he waved her in and towards one of the chairs in front of his desk, "You are most welcome Madam Bones, please come in and sit, would you like anything to drink?"

Amelia couldn't help it, she knew the stories of eating and drinking in strange lands and being stuck there forever and while she didn't know where she was the feeling in the air made her certain this was definitely a strange land so immediately said, "Thank you sire but no, I have only recently had my own breakfast."

A small smile tugged at the corners of Jareth's mouth, he easily guessed the reason for her saying no as it was something that always happened when he was visited by mortals in his own land, although with his current standing orders to the goblins Aboveground he was sure Amelia had no idea where exactly she was.

"Very well, I would like to thank you for coming to see me, I am sure you get to see and spend precious little time with your niece, especially as she now attends Hogwarts so I will do my best to not keep you too long." Jareth said, maintaining the image of a polite business man as opposed to a King.

He had heard good things about both Bones women, the younger one from his son and so was happy to have the chance to get to see if what he had heard from McGonagall about the older one was correct. If so than he wanted to try and secure an alliance with the House of Bones, after all it was one of the few Houses that had held strong political alliances with the House of Potter in the past and he knew Jared would need all the alliances he could when he took his position as Head of the House.

Amelia smiled at him, "You are correct, an unfortunate result of having such a busy job but it does mean that I can ensure Susan has the best chances available to her when she is older. I am sure you feel the same with your own son, I trust Prince Jared is well?" she asked in the same polite manner.

He gave her a full smile now, "He is, working quite hard with his Stepmother the Queen on making sure the ball I have allowed him will be perfect, though my wife and I have tried to tell him that it doesn't need to be so for his first one, it just needs to be fun."

Amelia gave a chuckle, "From the stories Susan tells me about him I could imagine how hard he is working at it, ah the enthusiasm of youth I sometimes wish I still had it."

"Indeed," he agreed with her giving his own little chuckle, "I trust your niece Susan is also well and has been enjoying her Christmas break?"

Amelia gave a nod, "She is and has, she loved the present Prince Jared sent her, I hope her own present to him and the thank you letter she wrote reached him ok."

"It did, all post sent to Jared comes through here after being screened by the goblins in the bank for anything harmful, necessary precautions I am sure you can understand."

She gave a brief nod and said, "Of course I do the same and screen mine and Susan's post before letting her near it, being in my position at the Ministry we can't be too careful."

He was pleased to see she understand, not many liked the thought of their post being scanned and could find it quite insulting. "Once it has passed through and sent here I then do one final check on it before handing anything over to Jared, I know a few tricks that the Goblins would be unable to do as result of the magic for my own species. It is in fact in relation to a parcel being sent to Jared that I finally asked to see you."

A serious look came over Amelia at hearing this, "I assume it was this parcel that was the threat you referred to in your letter sire?"

Jared looked deadly serious now, "Among several other things yes. Several days ago a package was sent to the England branch of Gringotts for Prince Jared. Naturally the goblins scanned it and upon finding some tracking and compulsion charms they decided to perform further scans, here are their results."

He passed her a piece of parchment which he had used to copy the list of what charms and potions had been detected on the parcel sent by Dumbledore, he had done it so that he didn't have to show her the whole letter as he didn't want to reveal who had done them just yet, he wanted to see her reaction to the list first. Nor did he want her to be aware that he was in talks with the three professors yet as the letter clearly implied.

Amelia read over the list and the further down she got the angrier she got, that someone would dare to use even the first low level charms, and on a child, was infuriating but the stronger ones and finally the potions listed had her wanting to hit the firing range the Aurors used and start blowing things up.

It was with a tight voice that she asked, "Do you know who sent the parcel sire?"

Jareth's Fae senses easily picked up the amount of rage she was feeling, it flowed off her and he couldn't stop a rather vicious smile from showing. "I do, the magical signature of who cast the spells, created the potions and who they were keyed to was easily picked out as a part of the detection spells used by my goblins. Before I tell you what was found I would also like to advise you of other issues my son has either been forced to deal with or discovered since returning to your world, if you are as cleaver as I have been told you are I am sure you will figure out the identity of the one who sent the parcel and so attempted to bring about war between our nations."

Amelia took a deep breath and forced her anger back, "Of course sire, but may I ask has it all been just the one person for each issue your son has had to face?"

Jareth gave a small shake of his head, "Unfortunately no, two of the three individuals I believe will be easy to deal with, but the third, he will be harder to deal with and also the reason why I have not yet filed any complaints with your ministry.

Of course there is also the fact that any complaints are likely to be ignored simply because they would come from the Goblin nation and a disturbing amount of bias and prejudice has built up against my subjects in your world." His voice was ice cold and his words dripped disgust and disdain as he said this last bit.

Amelia grimaced and looked ashamed at that fact, "I wish I could say that was not true but I would be lying and that is something I try to only do if it has an effect on the outcome of a mission." She couldn't help the slight smile as she said, "And lying is certainly not something I would dream of doing to a King, especially one that has been gracious enough to allow his son to invite my niece to a ball."

Jareth gave a small smile at her response, at least she hadn't tried to deny the prejudice, his voice was no longer icy as he said, "I am glad to hear it, though I feel should tell you that as many of my duties deal with deception it makes it one of my own specialties and as such I am able to see through all deceptions aimed towards me so it would be impossible for you to lie to me and get away with it."

Amelia couldn't help looking envious at that, "Now that is a skill I wish I could have, it would make my work so much easier." She pushed the thought away, and returned to the serious matter they were discussing, "Very well sire, I understand that there will be nothing we can do straight away if they have political power but may I have their names anyway? And what other issues Prince Jared has encountered that you believe I should be aware of?" She pulled a small notepad and small self-inking quill out of her inner robe pocket, like any good cop she always carried them with her to make notes that might later be needed as reference for accuracy in a case, "And do you mind if I make notes of what you tell me?"

"Of course not," Jareth replied as he then sat back in his chair and took a moment to organise in his mind the best order to tell her what Jared had notified him of in his letters, "Well to begin with the first person to insult and irritate this family is the Headmaster of Prince Jared's school, on his first night there it took several times of being informed how he was to address my son before he finally understood, not an encouraging start I might add, my son is to be under the care of this man and yet he cannot seem to get his name right.

What I believe is worse, though my son cannot prove this as no outward signs were shown to anyone else present but I know he would never lie to me about this, the Headmaster attempted to enter my son's mind without his or my permission, thankfully Prince Jared has been taught how to protect his mind from such attacks."

Madam Bones frowned at that, her anger beginning to grow again at hearing of the attack on the Prince's mind but with no evidence she could only note it down along with the problem over names, she also vaguely remembered a letter from Susan back at the start of the school year mentioning something about problems with names, she would have to pull them out when she got back home and re-read them.

"The very next morning on Prince Jared's first day attending this school of human magic he and some of his house-mates are then insulted by a fellow year mate from a different house and when my son called for an apology was then not only insulted but treated like a piece of dirt by a member of staff, treatment that was then supported by the Headmaster himself. Even if my son was not a prince I would still find such treatment of a child deplorable, as it was my son he decided that if this was the way he was to be treated he would not remain within the school."

Amelia looked horrified at what she was being told, she could easily guess which member of staff had insulted Jared considering the complaints and action the school governors had taken during the first few weeks, she had not been able to attend the emergency meeting due to an undercover operation she had been running at the time but she had received a copy of the minutes from it.

She kept her silence with some effort and continued to make notes as Jareth carried on, "Prince Jared, even though he had every right to call a formal duel on all three individuals that had insulted him chose the better path and walked away, he returned to his room to begin packing his belongings, it was at this time that he contacted me though a secure method of communication we have, it is a secret to all members of our family, I believe you would call it family magic,"

He paused and got a quick brief nod from Amelia and then continued, "As soon as I was aware of what had occurred I travelled to the school to retrieve my son. Once I arrived I was met by the Deputy Headmistress and my sons Head of House, it was only through talking to those lovely ladies that agreements were made and led to my son remaining at the school. I would like to say that was all my son has had to face but unfortunately there is more."

Amelia looked grim but calmly said, "I am glad to hear at least two members of staff at the school were able to do something, Minerva and Pomona have always been two of the most sensible people I know. Please continue sire."

He gave a small incline of his head to acknowledge her comment before carrying on, "After this incident my son has been subject to a great deal of attention from all of the students within the school, however due to the fame he has been given by your society since the attack that killed his birth parents we had already expected this to a degree and it has not been too inconvenient for him, unpleasant but it has not interfered with his studies and so he assures me it is something he can handle.

What I find troubling myself is that he was forced to handle the situation of a member of staff treating him yet again like a something they had scrapped from the bottom of their shoe himself, rather than have a teacher deal with the member of staff. To be treated in such a manner by an adult that is in a position that holds a great deal of responsibility and my son was put in the position that he had to formally challenge and duel the man. I believe you are a member of the school board of governors and so I presume you are aware of what I speak about?"

Amelia gave a nod, "I am sire, I was able to attend the day of the duel but not the emergency meeting that followed due to my duties at the time but I am aware of it all. I must say I was greatly impressed with Prince Jared's ability's during the duel and his behaviour afterwards, my niece told me about how he acted when she returned home for the holidays."

Jareth again gave a nod to her words, "Thank you and I too understand that sometimes the duties of your work can stop you from attending certain things. As you are aware of what happened I will not repeat it to you, but were you aware of what the Headmaster attempted to do on the afternoon of the day before the duel?"

Amelia almost sighed in resignation but managed to keep it internal as she calmly said, "I was unaware of any incident occurring sire other than the one involving the member of staff Severus Snape that resulted in the duel."

Jareth looked grim now, "The headmaster insisted on speaking to my son, naturally as a part of the agreement I had with his Head of House she attended the meeting with him, I refuse to allow my son to be in the same room as that man alone. They went to Professor Sprouts office and it was there that he proceeded to once more address my son in an informal manner which he had not been invited to do, and while it is something which any member of a royal family tends to consider a minor insult it is still an insult.

After he had been corrected on this by Prince Jared, he insulted him further by telling Prince Jared that he was a silly child for defending his honour, something he should not have had to do had the Headmaster fulfilled his duties with competence. Instead the Headmaster showed that he was yet again supporting the bullying actions of his staff member, I am beginning to wonder if my son is truly in a secure environment considering the endorsement such vile actions are being given by the ones in authority at this school, not to mention the death threat given to all of the students on their first night there if they simply go to corridor within the school, I understand that there can be dangerous areas to any location but surely a school filled with children should only have some staff only areas that are protected by mundane punishments such as detention not death threats."

Amelia frowned at that, "I am starting to wonder about some things myself sire, I have had a few worrying letters from Susan since the start of school, but nothing as bad as what I am now hearing. Certainly not about any death threats about going to a corridor in the school I will have to look over Susan's letters again and have a chat with her as well while I look into that. I also hope working together we can resolve any problems Prince Jared is facing and so return Hogwarts to what it was when I attended."

Jareth gave a small smile to hear that before returning to the grim look he had since starting to tell Amelia all that had been going on, "The final issue that has occurred with the Headmaster was only recently when he attempted to keep Prince Jared from returned home for the Christmas holidays.

He summoned my son to his office again he was accompanied by his Head of House. As soon as Prince Jared had taken a seat the Headmaster preceded to covertly cast spells at Prince Jared and I wouldn't be surprised if he cast some at Professor Sprout as well, my son identified the ones cast at him as compulsion spells, he has been trained to detect such charms and throw them off since he was young, a necessary precaution for an Heir to a Throne so as to ensure the security and protection of not just the King but all of the royal family and the Kingdom itself.

These were not the only spells my son detected during this meeting, it would appear that there are numerous spells, Prince Jared informs me they are also compulsion spells of varying strength as well as a few strong glamour's, layered over all of the furniture and the walls of the Headmasters office."

Hearing this Amelia there and then made the decision to never walk willingly into the Headmaster's office until she had her people clear it of all these spells. While there might not be any evidence to prove that they are there without examining the office she felt sure they were and the mention of the glamour spells intrigued her, just what was the Headmaster hiding behind them?

She was quickly coming to like King Jareth and had a feeling, more of a gut instinct that he had not once told her a lie yet, nor would he in matters this serious and so she believed what he told her about the Headmasters office, Amelia knew that it would be hard to get a justifiable reason to search and confirm the existence of the spells but was determined to find one.

A spark of her anger was starting to show through in her voice as she said, "Thank you for the heads up on that one sire, I'll have to see if I can find a reason for my people to do something about that. I also have a feeling I can answer my next question but I still can't help hoping I'm wrong, did the Headmaster attempt any other spells stronger than compulsion charms or try to invade your son's mind again to force him to not leave the castle?"

"Thankfully no, all though they would have all failed if he had. I am sure you are aware of the Phoenix that currently resides at the castle," he saw her give a nod of yes to that, "When he entered the office Prince Jared, thanks to having contact with the Royal family of the Phoenixes gave the proper greeting to one of their ambassadors.

It is not known amongst humans but there are only seven Phoenixes, one for each continents in your world, although I believe the one for the Antarctic does tend to get a bit bored and spends most of its time visiting the others, the rest of their species reside in their own Kingdom. Each one in your world holds the title ambassador, Fawkes is of the Fire Clan and was selected to be the ambassador for Europe.

As a Prince of a Kingdom and someone who is friends with the Royal family of all the Phoenix clans Jared knows the name and clan for all the ambassadors, as such good manners dictated that he greet Fawkes upon entering the Headmaster's office. Thankfully this show of good manners earned him a gift from Fawkes. During the meeting Fawkes added a layer of protection to Prince Jared against any attempts to either enter his mind or corrupt it to a view not his own. It was placed in his hair by Fawkes and while it would only last until Jared washed his hair again it was enough to ensure his protection for the meeting."

Amelia had initially been pleased to find she was in fact wrong having expected Jareth to tell her that Dumbledore had attempted to enter Jared's mind again but after what she had then been told about the Phoenix that the British Wizarding would were under the impression was the familiar to Dumbledore, she now sat wide eyed in awe and wonder.

She knew Phoenix's were rare but hadn't realised just how rare or that they were official representatives. She would have to make sure she greeted Fawkes as one next time she saw him, after all she was a high ranking member of their Ministry and it would be rude of her not to greet an official representative when in their presence.

Secretly Amelia was also pleased that this meant Fawkes was not Dumbledore's familiar as too many times that had been used as an excuse as to why he couldn't have possibly done something that was questionable, after all a Phoenix wouldn't bond with someone that could do anything that wasn't Light! Of course know she knew they were Ambassadors she knew that they wouldn't bond with any other species as it would compromise their positions, her own political training told her this, they could offer friendship but nothing more.

Jareth hadn't seemed to notice her momentary lapse in concentration, that or he chose to ignore it as he carried on, "Now, while Jared's mind was not attacked this time he was heavily insulted by the Headmaster, a 'spoiled little prince' I believe my son said his exact words were, this was after my son had rightly asked the Headmaster how as the only student being confined to the castle against his will and forbidden to contact his family these acts were not classed as kidnapping. No other student was told they could not leave and yet Prince Jared was. Had Fawkes and Professor Sprout not intervened I believe the Headmaster would have held my son hostage.

I am sure you have now also figured out who sent the parcel to my son?"

Amelia couldn't stop the sigh from escaping her this time as she said with resignation, "Albus Dumbledore sent it didn't he sire when he couldn't get Prince Jared to remain at Hogwarts for the holidays?"

Jareth gave a single grim nod and his voice turned ice cold again, "He did. Jared is my Heir and Prince to the Kingdom of the Goblins, had he been held hostage or influenced by any of the spells or potions on and in that parcel I assure you Madam Bones the British Ministry for Magic would have very quickly found itself at War with the Goblin Kingdom.

All treaties with your government would have been broken.

The branch of Gringotts in your country would have been immediately closed with no access to anything held within its vaults, and they would have all been sealed. I am sure you can imagine what kind of economic crash that would cause for you.

Attacks would have been launched against several key locations throughout your country and as much destruction and chaos as possible would have been caused by my warriors, and I promise you they would have been from my true army and not the ones you have seen when the Clans kept having those ridiculous squabbles you try to teach at your school. My true warriors are far more formidable.

All of this would have happened because one man has control issues and tried to exert that control over my son. He is the Headmaster of my son's school, tell me Madam Bones outside of matters pertaining to my son's education what right has this man to try and control his life? To meddle in his life in the way that only a parent has a right to?" His eyes narrowed and he gave off a sinister aura as he asked, "And where did he obtain enough blood of my son to brew such potions that were detected?" He fell silent, his face and posture was calm but his narrowed eyes held a cold hard anger in them and the sinister aura remained.

Amelia had gone very pale at hearing what would have happened had Jared not been allowed to leave and return home. She was quite friendly with several goblins at Gringotts, she had found being so tended to help her when it came to matters of the law.

It was through these friendships that she was more aware than most Witches and Wizards just what kind of people the Goblins really were, they were not the push over accountants most thought them to be. And when it came to fighting, well get a wand away from the Witch or Wizard and she knew they were no match for a single half trained goblin let alone a whole regiment of well-trained ones and to hear these were nothing compared to what was being held back from them terrified her.

It took Amelia several moments to get her mind away from the mental images she had of what Jareth had described, even without the fighting he was right if they sealed the bank the economy would disintegrate.

Amelia tried to keep her voice as calm and steady as she could but a faint tremor could be detected as she said, "Sire I wish I could answer your questions, unfortunately all I can say is that Albus Dumbledore has amassed a significant amount of power and sway over the people, to my shame I too had fallen under his influence but what you have told me here today, I swear to you that I will not let myself become so blinded again.

I wish I could say that I will immediately see to his removal from his position as Headmaster as he is clearly abusing it but as previously mentioned he has a great deal of political power, but if you will allow me to, as soon as I have returned to my office I will begin to make plans to see about bringing him down, I will try to ascertain how he got a hold of your son's blood and I will also see what can be done regarding Severus Snape and his actions towards Prince Jared. You have my oath on that Your Majesty."

Jareth regarded her for a few moments in solemn silence before bowing his head slightly and allowing himself to relax slightly and the sinister aura to dissipated, "I was told that you are an honest and worthy woman Amelia Bones, I find myself agreeing with that judgement and I am happy for you to begin making plans and taking action against Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape on my behalf."

He pulled open a drawer on his desk and withdrew a rolled up parchment sealed with a blob of deep blue wax that had his family crest pressed into it and matching blue ribbon tied around it. He placed it on the desk and said "This is an official writ declaring you to be an emissary of mine in the Human Wizarding World. If you have any need of assistance from any goblin show them this and you will have it."

Amelia blinked in surprise at him but leaned forward and took the document, "Thank you sire."

He gave a brief nod of acceptance to her thanks, "I feel I should also mention to you that the blood used in the potions detected on the contents of the parcel was purely for Harry Potter, and not the blood of Prince Jared.

When I adopted my son a blood ritual was performed, as a result his blood was altered, not enough to affect any claim on his heritage as a Potter but enough so that there are differences between what his blood was like before the adoption, as such while there is a chance that enough Potter blood remains in his veins for the potions to have an affect it would not have been to the extent had he still been just Harry Potter. This is information I would not like others to be aware of."

Amelia gave a short nod, "I understand sire, if it were to become known then Dumbledore would get rid of all evidence that he ever had any of Harry Potter's blood and try to gain a fresh sample of Prince Jared's. In keeping this knowledge secret there is a chance we may be able to detect where he kept the blood and if he still has anymore."

Jareth looked grim at the thought but left it there, "As you can understand I am more than irritated at the actions of Severus Snape and so any effort you can make to have him removed from my son's life as he attends school would be greatly appreciated by both the Queen and I. Now there is one final issue I wish to discuss with you that Prince Jared has mentioned to me in his letters. Since the first night he arrived at Hogwarts he has been sensing a rather dark presence around one of the teachers, a Professor Quirrell."

This really surprised Amelia she had been expecting it to Snape again but now that she thought about it the King had said that there were three people he wanted he to look into with Snape and Dumbledore obviously being the first two, "So far Prince Jared has been unable to ascertain as to why he senses such a presence surrounding the man, he can only tell that it is quite malevolent. He is still only eleven and only a half-blood of my species so his ability to sense anything past that is still a little beyond him"

Jareth left out the fact that Jared had also mentioned the headaches caused by his scar whenever he was near Professor Quirrell as that was something they had already figured out would happen when he was near Voldemort many years ago and knew couldn't be dealt with until he was older as advised by the High Lord himself.

As soon as Jared had realised that was what had been causing his headaches and written to Jareth about it they had both known Quirrell was either in contact with Voldemort or possessed by him. Given the constant dark presence around him at all times they suspected possession but Jareth didn't intend to tell Amelia that as it would lead to questions they were not yet willing to answer or show they had the knowledge to answer just yet.

Amelia frowned had noticed Jareth specifically not mention what his species was, it was quite the topic of gossip and intrigue that Jared was only half-human, it had eventually come out at school and the children had of course written about it to their parents and now everyone wanted to know just what the other half species he was, something Jared had managed very easily to keep to himself, her gut also told her something else was being kept from her about this but she wisely chose not to mention it and instead simply said, "I can certainly look into it, but I would ask that if Prince Jared does sense anything else from Professor Quirrell he lets me know, if that is acceptable sire?"

Jareth gave a small smile he could tell she knew something was being kept from her but had not said anything, he was really starting to like this witch, not to mention impressed that she had even detected something was being kept from her, "It is and I will inform Prince Jared to do so. I will also have the goblins of the bank send you the files for all three individuals to you."

Amelia gave a nod of thanks once more and scribbled it down in her notepad along with all the other copious notes she had been making though out.

Jareth relaxed in his chair slightly, now that all of the unpleasant issues had been discussed, out of politeness he asked, "Do you have any questions?"

Amelia flipped her notepad closed and put it along with her small quill back in her pocket before saying, "Well there is one thing I wanted to ask sire and I hope I cause no offense but I wonder if I may be permitted to ask, where am I?"

Jareth couldn't stop the chuckle from escaping at her question, a genuine smile of amusement on his face now, one Amelia reflected with her own.

"As you are my emissary I think it only fair that you at least know that, come I will give you a brief tour." He stood and Amelia quickly stood up as well, he led her out of his office and down a corridor, "You are currently in my castle that stands beyond the Goblin City." They entered the throne room and he led her over to the large window and indicated she should look out and as she did so couldn't stop going wide eyed at what she saw, he said in a grand voice still laced with amusement, "Welcome to the Underground Madam Bones, you are in the Goblin Kingdom where The Labyrinth resides."

Spread out before Amelia was a hot arid country, a dirty haphazard city surrounding the castle and beyond that she could see what she had only ever heard about in children's stories, the great Labyrinth itself. Even from where she stood she could feel the power emanating from it.

"I am the King of all you see, it is my duty to take those wished away and give the wisher the chance to win them back by running my Labyrinth. One day Prince Jared will inherit all of this but first he must be trained and attend to duties that require his attention Aboveground in the Wizarding world, but I will not abandon him to that fate simply because he has turned eleven and has now returned to your world. He may have once been the one you call Harry Potter but he is now my son and as such a child of both worlds."

Amelia stood staring at what she saw, finally she turned back to him and with a smile said, "I only ever thought such a place existed in stories, Prince Jared really is lucky to live here and to have a father that cares for him so much."

Jareth returned her smile but before anything else could be said a young woman walked into the throne room carrying a large shaggy fur in her arms, "Ah Jareth there you are have you finished your meeting with the witch from Aboveground?" clearly she hadn't seen Amelia when she walked in.

Not looking at Jareth she walked over to the throne and began draping the fur over it, he raised one eyebrow at her, "I have, I am giving Madam Bones a quick tour and showing her where we are. Sarah what are you doing with my favourite fur?"

Sarah spun around a look of surprise on her face at his words, only now spotting Amelia, "Oh my Madam Bones I do apologise I didn't see you there. And I was giving it a clean, it stank and I hate to think what was living it."

Jareth frowned at her, "It did not stink, it had a natural musty odour that I quite like and it was very clean, as if I would let anything live in it when it sits on my throne."

Sarah merely glared back at him, "Jareth we can discuss that later now perhaps you would like to introduce me."

Jareth gave a final frown at her before half turning back to Amelia, "Madam Bones my I present my wife Queen Sarah, Sarah this is Madam Bones, Regent for House Bones and the Head of the Department for Magical Law in Britain Aboveground."

Amelia quickly bobbed a rough curtsey, hardly believing that this young girl, who looked to only just be about twenty was the Queen and wife to such a roguish looking man as Jareth, "Your Majesty." She said politely, "I thank you for inviting me to you home."

Sarah gave her a warm smile, "Not at all Madam Bones," A hard look came into her eyes now. "If you can assist us with destroying that despicable old fool then you are more than welcome."

Amelia had to swallow back her sudden fear at the look on Sarah's face, she had thought Jareth to be strong and intimidating and now it looked as if his Queen was just as bad if not more so. The power she could see on these two made her think Dumbledore really was a fool to have angered them, had she even suspected that she had irritated them she would be on her knees grovelling for forgiveness, to have done what he had she would be shaking in fear at the thought of the retribution they could bring down on her head.

As quick as it had appeared the cold hard look was gone and Sarah was smiling warmly again, "Jareth why don't I give Madam Bones the tour and you can go back and finish your work, remember you promised Jared that this afternoon you would help him choose what to wear to his ball."

He gave a quick nod of approval, "Of course," turning to Amelia he gave a short bow which she returned with another curtsey, slightly less wobbly as she was starting to get the hang of them, "Madam Bones it has been a pleasure, I hope you will join your niece for Prince Jared's ball, you would be more than welcome."

She gave him a smile, "I would be honoured Your Majesty."

"Very well then I will see you in a couple of days." He said before turning and heading back to his office.

Once he was gone Sarah came over and said, "Well now Jareth is gone we can be a little more informal, please call me Sarah, I hope Susan is looking forward to the ball?"

Amelia gave her a genuine smile in return, "You must call me Amelia than and yes she is, ever since she received her invite she has changed her mind on what to wear at least a dozen times. I would also like to thank you for inviting her."

Sarah gave a wave of her hand, "Not at all she's a friend of Jared's, come why don't I show you the ballroom we have just finished re-decorating it." She then led Amelia out on a tour of the castle, during which a friendship began to form between the two women. It was two hours later that Amelia found herself being escorted back to the room that would take her back Aboveground and her work on making plans could begin.

xxxx

A/N wow ok so I know it has been a while since I updated but there you.

In case it was missed at the top I would also like to dedicate this chapter to **Carmynsorena **in thanks for the lovely PM/review that they sent me. It was your message that actually got me to finish this chapter :)

I would also like to say this, to try and encourage an author to update their fic with a new chapter in a **review **is in my book an acceptable thing to do, even I have done this in the past what I do find unacceptable is to send PM's to the author and even if it is either politely worded or rudely demanding that they update or insisting that they write things in the fic as they think it should be written. I have had both from a few different people.

Tell me would you write or go to your favourite authors and demand they write the next book on your say so or put in it what you want in it? No you give them the respect of doing it as and when they do (Publishers aside as it's their job to do that and a contract is signed between them and the author regarding this) and you don't dictate to them what they do in their works, that is why we have fanfiction so we can play and do that ourselves so I will tell you now such demands or 'requests' are what actually put me off writing as it makes me feel like why should I do what I enjoy if it is going to get spoiled by me being made to feel like I dance to others tunes and not my own. Also if you don't like or want to do things in a different way to what I have written then stop reading my fic and go write your own because that is the only way you will get what you want.

To me PM's are there for private conversations between people that respect each other, don't patronise (some even going so far as to treat me like nothing more than a little child in how they speak to me) each other as some have tried to do to me regarding mistakes in grammar and spelling, mention it in **reviews** by all means as this is constructive criticism and a part of what** reviews** are for but not a PM as that is invading my private 'post box/life' and insulting me. If I reply to a review about it then I am inviting you to a conversation not asking you to then think you can take it as the go ahead to make demands or patronise me. PM's are in my view akin to a private life and something that should be respected. I would never dream of just randomly PMing an author to insult them like that.

Apologies for the rant and I hope I haven't offended anyone with my opinions but it is something that has really been putting me off writing just recently.

Keep writing and have fun

V.

A/N Updated 11/11/2015 Re-reading the earlier chapters to double check something I realised I had made a small mistake in the Duel chapter and put Madam Bones in attendance but then in this one had her saying she wasn't there. Corrected that little problem

I am also working on the next chapter and hope to have it up soon so please be patient.

Keep writing and have fun

V.


	29. Chapter 29 - Christmas Celebrations Pt4

Disclaimer: I can honestly say that after looking at my poor bank balance I do not own any of the characters that you see and recognise here from either Harry Potter or The Labyrinth, I am just having a little fun with them all :)

This chapter is dedicated to the great man and legend that left us recently…RIP David Bowie

**Chapter Twenty-Nine – Christmas Celebrations Pt4 – Jared's Ball**

A small group of 19 Hogwarts students and their parents or guardians had gathered in the foyer of Gringotts, the children were dressed in a mixture of formal dresses, suits and wizarding robes. They were all chattering amongst themselves, some showed a bit more excitement than others but that was just due to having learned to hide their emotions better.

Of the adults only two were dressed formally, Madam Bones and Madam Longbottom as they were the only grown-ups with invitations to go to the ball. Quite a few of the other parents had frowned at this, some even going so far as to tell the goblins guarding them that they were considering refusing to allow their children to go if they were not allowed to attend as well. These comments were met with cold stony faces from the goblins who didn't say one word, they just stood watching over and guarding the small group as they had been ordered to by Golgribble.

Finally a door behind one of the teller desks opened and Jared appeared, he was dressed in a similar manner to what he had worn for the Yule-Tide ball only this time the colour of his waistcoat was deep blue and he had left off the cloak and his silver chain of office. Even without them he made for quite the handsome figure as he strode across the large foyer towards them.

He gave a wide grin as he got to them, "Hey guys I'm glad you could all make it." They all smiled happily at him in return, he turned to the group of adults and keeping his smile in place gave a short shallow bow to them, "Ladies and Gentleman I would like to thank you for escorting my guests to the bank and I give you my word and oath as a gentleman and a prince that they will be safe while under my care. They will be ready for picking up at ten o'clock in the morning, if you are unable to come here for that time please inform one of the goblins when we have left and my father will ensure a way to safely travel home is provided for your child or ward."

One of the men frowned at him, "Now see here young man, I have no intention of letting my daughter stay here without my supervision, I insist on being allowed to attend your party."

Jared's smile faltered slightly as he politely asked, "May I ask your name sir?"

The man pulled himself up to his full height, his dark red wizarding robes were clearly of a higher quality available marking him as one of the better off wizarding families and his tone held a clear trace of arrogance as he stated, "I am Steven Brocklehurst, Head of the House Brocklehurst."

Jared could see the man thought he would be cowed by this attempt to tower over him, instead Jared allowed his smile to fade a little as he simply said, "Very well then Mr Brocklehurst, it is with some regret that I must inform you that your daughter is unable to attend my ball."

He heard Mandy give a sharp gasp and a small cry at this but ignored it, "My Lord and King has quite explicitly told me that only those specifically named on the invites will be allowed within our home, this is for the security and protection of our royal family, something my father takes very seriously. If you insist on accompanying your daughter then I will have to insist that she is no longer welcome and her invite is revoked."

He turned to face where Mandy was standing where much to his surprise, though he did not show it, tears had already started to appear in her eyes, "My apologies Mandy but I cannot allow you to join us, my father's orders were quite strict on this matter."

Mandy stepped forward but instead of speaking to Jared she turned and cried at her father, "This was my first ball and now I can't go, how could you daddy? Why couldn't you just let me go with all my friends? Madam Longbottom and Bones were going to be there to watch over us, why couldn't you just stop being so snobby for once?" the tears were flowing freely down her face now and some of the other girls had gathered around her to try and comfort her.

Her father stood there watching this, hating himself for making his little girl cry, especially in front of all the other parents, some of them had been making the same grumblings of complaint but he had been the one to speak out first and now wished he had just stayed quiet and let one of them do it.

He took a step towards Mandy, "Mandy I am only trying to protect you, you must understand…"

She interrupted him in a tear filled voice, "No daddy you just wanted to try and get to see Jared's father. I heard you talking to the fathers you wanted to meet him and try to get him to be friends with you so you could rub it in the faces of some of the other families like the Malfoys. I heard you and now your being pompous has ruined everything."

Madam Bones managed to keep her face neutral but in her eyes you could see a hint of suspicion at the young girls behaviour, stepping forward she calmly said, "I think Mr Brocklehurst it might be best if you apologise to both Prince Jared and Mandy, then perhaps Prince Jared will still allow her to attend if you assure him you no longer wish to go with us."

He looked between her and Jared, who had remained calm through all of it, and swallowing his pride knowing his little girl was more important in a stiff voice Brocklehurst formally said, "Prince Jared I apologise for my hasty words before, please do not punish Mandy for my foolishness and allow her to attend your ball." He gave a short bow to him before promptly turning to Mandy, his voice softened significantly as he said "Princess I'm sorry I shouldn't have tried to get in the way of you having fun with your friends."

Mandy looked at him and gave a few wet sniffs before moving to give him a hug as her way of accepting his apology. Jared gave a small smile at the sight of it, "Very well I accept your apology Mr Brocklehurst, Mandy you may still attend the ball."

Mandy gave him a huge smile, "Oh thank you Prince Jared."

He merely smiled back at her before giving a short bow to the group of adults, "If you will excuse us then, we will see you tomorrow morning, ladies and gentleman if you will please follow me." This last was said to the group of invited guests.

Jared turned and headed back towards the door he had exited from, he paused at it and waited for the group to catch up after they had all said goodbye to their parents or guardians. Soon he was leading them through the bank and up to the top floor where the room that would take them to the Underground was located.

The group were happily chatting quietly amongst themselves as they followed him, although Madam Longbottom and Bones both remained silent. Madam Longbottom was taking in as much as they could of an area of the bank she had never seen before while Madam Bones recognised the route they were following as the one she had taken previously.

He opened the door and indicated they should all enter, each doing so with wide eyes only to take on a look of disappointment at the sight of the plain white room. Once they were all in Jared closed the door and turned to face them as he finally gave into his curiosity, "Ok I have to ask, Mandy why did you get so emotional down there, I've never seen you like that before?"

Mandy gave him a huge smile and with a chuckle on her voice said, "Oh that was all planned." The two older witches shared a brief look, they had suspected it was so and were keen to find out why. "We all knew that apart from Susan and Neville our parents or in some cases guardians were going to try and force their way into the ball. It was something some of us had been talking about through letters to each other ever since you sent the invites and they found out they couldn't attend.

Once we all got here and talking together we found out it was something we all had in common and well we decided we weren't going to let them ruin things so we quietly voted and decided that the parent or guardian that spoke up first their child would make a really big show and fuss about it in an attempt to embarrass them all into stopping it from going any further.

As it happens not long after getting here I heard my dad talking to some of his friends about how your father snubbed Malfoy's dad at the train station, he had been standing nearby and heard it all so I was able to throw that in and make it even worse."

Jared couldn't help laughing, "That is great, I am so going to have to tell my father about this he would love it." While Mandy had been explaining what happened in the lobby only Madam Longbottom and Bones had noticed the brief glow of the walls.

Jared's voice still had the trace of his laughter in it as he turned to the same door they had all come through and said, "Now I know this wasn't exactly what you were all expecting but I can happily say that this is in fact just the traveling room, as such everyone welcome to my father's Kingdom and home, the castle beyond the Goblin city." With that he pulled the door open and a warm breeze flowed into the room.

They all trooped out with shock to see not the neat and formal looking bank but the warn old stone corridor. Jared quickly led them through the castle corridors and into the Throne room, which is where Jareth sat waiting to see them, one leg was swung up over the side of the throne giving him a lazy lounging pose as he tapped his ornate riding crop against the side of his boot in a languid manner.

They walked in looking around with wide eyes but as those at the front of the group saw the regal looking man on the throne they stopped suddenly causing the ones at the rear to stumble into their backs.

Jareth smirked at them seeing this happen while Jared rolled his eyes at his father's reaction but before he could say anything Madam Bones who had been behind the children gently pushed them all forward into the room fully and stepped around them to stand to the side at the front of the group and with a small curtsey said, "Your Majesty we did not expect to see you, you honour us with your presence."

The kids all quickly copied her with their own curtseys and bows with Madam Longbottom's being the least awkward. Jareth's smirk stayed in place as he lazily waved a hand at them all, "It is good to see you again Madam Bones, and welcome all of you to my castle." He swung his leg back to the floor and stepped down from his throne, moving over to them where he rested a hand on Jared's shoulder, "As Prince Jared's guests and friends I would like to assure all of you that you will be protected in accordance with the ancient accords of hospitality, so please relax and enjoy both the ball and your time here in my Kingdom."

The group of children gave murmured thanks to him, not really understanding what he had meant, Jared could see their confusion and decided he would explain it all to them later, turning to his father he said, "Thank you sire for welcoming my friends, will you join us in the ballroom?"

Jareth looked at him with a small smile and gave Jared's shoulder a gentle squeeze, "I have an inspection to make in the Labyrinth as such I will have to take my leave, the Queen in is in the rose garden should you have need of her." He gave a shallow bow of his head at the group before turning and walking out of the room via a door on the opposite side from the one they had entered by.

Jared turned back to his friends with an apologetic smile in place, "I'm sorry guys, I wanted to give you all a warning that my father would be here but he ordered me not too. He loves catching people by surprise and seeing their reactions, at least he had promised me that he would only keep it to a simple introduction," he indicated that they follow him as he headed in the direction of a different door to the one Jareth had used, "he has a rule that no one is allowed in the castle without at least being introduced to him but he did agree that he would stay away from the ball."

He noticed the few relieved looks from some of his friends, some of them hid it well but on others it was plain to see, "I have to admit it was kinda nerve racking seeing him." Megan said and several of the others nodded in agreement.

Madam Bones and Longbottom were following at the back of the group where both of them were trying to remember the way they were being led through the twisting corridors, it was Madam Bones that said, "For being surprised as you were I thought you all did very well, I admit my own curtsey needs a little more practise but for a first time I was impressed at how well you all managed."

This earned her several looks of gratitude from the children, this was doubled when Madam Longbottom said, "Indeed I was most impressed with you all as well."

After a couple of moments silence it was Justin that asked what most of them were thinking, "What did he mean about having protection under the hospitality accords or something?"

Before Jared could answer it was actually Madam Longbottom that said, "They are ancient rules set down long before even the founders or Merlin himself was born on how to act when visiting either a friend or a potential enemy that you wanted to form a treaty with." She looked over all the children, even the older twins and seeing the curious looks on all their faces continued by saying.

"Perhaps at a future date we could arrange some lessons in the ancient accords as well as how to comport yourself in the presence of royalty and members of the noble court, I know Neville here will be taking similar lessons during his summer holidays anyway to prepare him for the day he takes his place as the Lord and Head of House Longbottom, I don't think it will be too much trouble to include you all. I am sure such lesson will help you overcome any nerves you would have in future meeting with Prince Jared's family."

Madam Bones gave a thoughtful nod, "That's a good idea Augusta, I'll be happy to help set up the lessons and get approval for the non-magical born students without floo access to have a portkey and join in." Susan and Neville had both made sure to tell their guardians not to use the words Muggle and Half-blood when they were around Prince Jared.

Jared had stopped in front of a pair of ornate looking double doors, turning to the group he said, "Ladies as much I think your idea to be a good one I must ask that we hold this conversation for another time, after all we are here to have a good time as such I welcome you all to the first annual Prince Jared's New Year's Ball."

He pushed the double doors open and gestured grandly for them all to enter. A soft golden glow had been released from the room when he opened the doors and the group walked in with wide eyes filled with awe at the sight of the ballroom.

The ballroom had been re-decorated since the Yule-tide ball, knowing that he would have guests from all four of the houses Jared hadn't wanted to keep the décor clearly favouring one house over all.

Two of the three chandeliers were lit with candles, but instead of being plain white they were a mixture of the house colours, red, gold, black, blue, yellow, bronze and silver. The soft glow from them lit up the half of the ball room they would be using, as they were only a small number it had been decided that they would only need half the room, though they could still dimly make out the other side.

The drapes had been changed to a deep royal purple, the green boughs still placed around them to give a festive atmosphere but like the candles a lot of the baubles had been replaced with ones to reflect all four houses. A buffet table was laden with a variety of finger food, most of which they recognised but there were a few dishes unknown to them, delicacies of the Underground they would come learn. The table cloth covering it was in a matching purple colour to the drapes but on the front of it hanging down, picked out in gold thread was the family crest for the Goblin King.

Chairs were dotted around the wall with small tables beside or in between them, the seat cushions on the seats of the chairs were once more a mixture of the house colours while all the small side tables had table clothes in purple with the family crest in the centre, this time done in silver thread.

Jared and Sarah had chosen to use the end of the ball room that was located under the orchestra balcony, this made sure to give the children room for dancing while above them a smaller version of the orchestra from the Yule-tide ball played music down on them from above, at the moment a gentle ballad was playing to welcome them.

The group walked into the room with eyes filled with awe, looking around at the décor and loving the mixed colour scheme, privately they had all been wondering what they would see.

Would it be pure opulence seen in fairy tales with everything dripping in gold, ornate mosaics adorning the wall with thick luxurious drapes and large gold and crystal chandeliers, or would it all be in Hufflepuff colours knowing that was Jared's house or even just a plain and simple room for them all to hang out in with no sign of wealth at all.

What they saw not only surprised them but impressed them too at how thoughtful the decorations were to be aimed at all of them and in such a tasteful manner too.

"Wow Jared" Hermione said, "This is amazing." The others were all nodding in agreement with her.

Jared gave them all a pleased smile, he had worked hard with Sarah to get the look just right and was more than happy to hear that it had paid off, "Thanks, although I have I wanted it to have grander feeling to it, like we got with the Yule-Tide ball but considering that uses the whole room I did the best I could to replicate it."

Madam Longbottom gave him a brief smile, "There is a sufficiently grand air to all of this Prince Jared considering this is a ball for young children as opposed to an adult ball"

Jared forced himself to bury the indignant feeling he had at being called a young child and gave her a short bow of his head in acknowledgment of her compliment, "I thank you Madam. Now," he addressed the rest of the group, "The buffet table will automatically refresh any dish that runs out and they will stay at the best temperature they need to be tasty, Queen Sarah cast the spells herself to make sure it would, so don't worry about having to eat anything now just help yourself when you feel like it.

The punch will also stay nice and chilled, we have two flavours, the red one is made from mixed berries that grow in the Labyrinth and has quite a tart after taste to it while the orange one is made from tropical fruits from what is known as the Caribbean islands and is quite sweet." He gestured to the balcony above them, "The music will stay as background stuff for about an hour but then they will start doing ones for dances if anyone that does wants to dance. Relax and just enjoy yourselves."

With that they began to spread out, some talking in twos and threes while some of the group went to investigate the buffet table. Madam Bones and Longbottom both got a drink before moving to one of the set of seats with a little table between them, they were happy to sit off to the side and watch over the group, they expected the children would ignore them for the rest of the ball which is why it was quite the surprise to them both when after about half an hour Jared came over and stood talking to them for a short time.

It was during this time when Jared was telling them about the Yule-tide ball that he mentioned the collapsed house on the main road and how he had saved some goblins from being dunked in the bog by using the levitation spell to clear the rubble.

Madam Bones got a little wide eyed and a slightly concerned look on her face as she said, "Oh dear did no one inform you Prince Jared that it is against the law for students to perform magic outside of school."

Jared was surprised at this, "No Madam, no one told me but as there was no one from the wizarding world to see me cast the spell I guess I was safe and would have got away with it until I mentioned it to you." He finished with a cheeky smile.

Madam Bones and Longbottom both frowned at this and Madam Bones said, "On the contrary Prince Jared there is a tracking system within the Ministry that relies on a trace placed on all wands bought at the age of eleven that will detected if magic is cast while away from Hogwarts. You should have received a letter from the Ministry moments after casting the spell on the rubble."

Jared frowned now, "I didn't receive any letter, and I know my father would have mentioned it if he had. I have to admit I'm a little disturbed to know that my wand has a trace on it that neither me, my father or Stepmother put on it. I just don't like the idea of having unknown magic cast on me or my belongings. I think this is something I will have to discuss with my father before I return to Hogwarts."

Madam Longbottom told him, "It is the law for all wandmakers to put the trace on all wands they make and sell to anyone that is not seventeen or older." She couldn't seem to stop herself from slipping into lecture mode as she went on, "This was done because it was discovered that many young magic users would over strain their magic cores by using magic all year round because their cores had yet to fully mature and stabilise something which occurs when you turn seventeen."

Most of the others had stopped and started to gather at her explanation, "So the Underage Use of Magic law was introduced to ensure that they would give their cores a rest during the school holidays to recover, unfortunately not all children listen to what they are told and so would still continue to use magic regardless and end up seriously hurting their magic cores so finally the trace was introduced.

If the Underage Use of Magic law is broken more than twice the child would be punished by having their ability to use magic bound for one year to allow any healing and recovery to their core while the parents or guardians of the child fined for not having better control of the child. After a year the binding was lifted and they would return to school but on probation, to break the law after that would see them bound permanently and serious consideration on if the child should be left with their parents or guardians or moved to the care of others that would show better control and discipline for the child."

Quite a few of the children were staring at the old women in horror. Other than the music that still floated down from above no one spoke as they considered what they had heard, finally it was Jared that said, "I wonder why I didn't get a letter about it then. And I promise I won't do any more human-magic while I'm away from Hogwarts."

A few of the more observant ones there noticed how he specifically said human magic making them wonder what other types of magic Jared could do but they couldn't think of a polite way to ask him.

Madam Bones had a thoughtful look on her face, "It could be a result of our location, being in your fathers Kingdom it might be that the trace on your wand is in effect 'out of range' of the Ministry to detect. I will check the records when we return and let you know, in the meantime as you have said I think it prudent that you simply withhold from casting any more spells."

With that they changed the subject and everyone else lost interest and went back to their own conversations.

Eventually Madam Longbottom said, "I appreciate you spending some time with us Prince Jared, it shows you have been bought to be a polite host, but please don't feel that you have to keep doing so throughout the ball, I am sure Madam Bones agrees with me when I say that we see your duty as a gracious host being sufficiently fulfilled and I have no doubt you would much rather be with your friends."

Jared gave her a smile as he replied, "Madam I assure you that I do not stay here talking to you out of any sense of duty, and while I admit one of the main reasons you were sent an invite to my ball to act as chaperon with Madam Bones, it was not the only reason. I am great friends with both of your charges, two people I greatly respect and know that they are only the way they are due to your raising of them, therefore I am more than happy and even eager to get to know you both as much as I do Susan and Neville.

Yes some people would only see me doing so as a political move, after all you both hold positions of power and have a great deal of respect in the wizarding world but personally I see you both as wise women that I would be foolish to ignore should you ever deign to give me advice on anything."

A serious look replaced the carefree smile he had as he continued, "One day I will be like Neville, the Lord and Head of my House, at that time I will have to take my place in the wizarding government and I am sure it is something I will find much easier to do if I not only have allies but friends that I can openly talk and debate about things with without worrying if doing so will have any effect on the potential political fallout that occurs between my House and the Houses of Bones and Longbottom should our votes in the wizarding government fall on opposite sides of a matter.

In short Madam Longbottom I do not stand here talking to you as a gracious host or future political ally but merely as a young boy trying to make friends with two wise women that are the guardians of two of my best friends."

By the time he had finished speaking both Madam Bones and Longbottom had faint blushes staining their cheeks, it had been a long time since anyone had spoken in such a flattering way to either of them.

Madam Longbottom's own stern and blunt manner generally put people off from using such methods on her and Madam Bones's position as head of the DMLE tended to intimidate people enough to stop them from trying it too much too.

"Prince Jared, I pity the idiots on the Wizengamot the day that you take your seat." Madam Bones said with a smile

Jared returned her smile with one of his own as he cheekly said, "And to think I haven't even finished my training in politics yet, father said he was going to start it properly with me during the summer holidays, so far I've just been reading all the laws for the Kingdom and just started on the ones for the wizarding world, I guess I just haven't come across the one about underage use of magic yet.

I have however been learning the correct manner to speak to people and how to subtly say things without actually saying what I mean since I was seven."

Madam Longbottom gave a rare genuine smile at him "With Neville only being one day older than you I am sure that you will both be taking your seats at the same time and I for one find myself looking forward to that day just to see some of the reactions from several of its members."

Jared gave a small chuckle at that, "I will try to remember to make it as entertaining as possible for you then ladies, now if you will excuse me I should go talk to some of my other guests." He gave the two a short bow and moved off to join the others.

Soon the music changed to something a little more upbeat, signalling that the guest could now start dancing if they wanted to. Hearing the change Jared immediately asked the young lady he was talking to, Susan Bones, if she would like to dance before escorting her out onto the area that had been cleared for it, they were the first couple to do so as all the others were looking at each other shyly.

Jared was soon twirling Susan around on the dance floor and after watching them for a few moments to the surprise of several students there it was Neville that was next to escort a young lady out, Megan Jones, and began to copy Jared and Susan as he gracefully spun her around and showing off the dance lessons he had been made to take by his gran since he was seven.

To the amusement of the everyone there the next couple out were the Weasley twins, they struck a mock pose of stiff formality before theatrically waltzing all around the dance floor, even the two couples already dancing struggled to hold their own poses due to laughing at the twins antics.

This gave all of the others the final push of courage to start asking each other and soon they were all out dancing. With their mission accomplished the twins gave each other a silent nod before walking over to the two older women and with an unusual bout of seriousness asked the ladies to dance in the correct manner of two pureblood wizards.

Appreciating the offer they both accepted and were pleasantly surprised when they were taken about the dance floor perfectly. Clearly Arthur Weasley had ensured his children knew the proper way to act at balls even if they were rarely invited to them or if the children in question had a propensity to act as though they had not received any form of teaching at all.

After the first dance the two older ladies thanked the twins and reassured them that the one dance was more than enough for them and they were happy to sit all others out before heading back to their seats, of course this was ignored by Jared who eventually asked them both to a dance each.

As he was the host they both accepted but made sure to state in loud enough voices for all the children to hear that they wanted to remain off to the side where they were quite comfortable watching the rest of the ball ensuring that no one else asked them for any more dances.

The rest of the ball passed quickly, Queen Sarah did stop by at one point and happily greeted them all, she received nervous curtseys and bows from the children but they were soon put at ease by her much friendly demeanour than Jareth's.

Sarah only spent about twenty minutes at the ball not wanting to over shadow Jared and even then most of the time was spent with Madam Bones and Longbottom before she excused herself and wished them all a pleasant evening.

At five minutes to midnight a large ornate looking clock appeared out of thin air and floated just under the orchestras balcony, seeing it appear Jared quickly called out to everyone that they only had five minutes and to make sure they all had a drink, some rushed quickly to the table to refill their glasses.

At midnight the clock began to chime while above the orchestra played the traditional song Auld Lang Syne, none of the children knew the words to the song but they all cheered and Jared happily gave the toast, "Happy New Year everyone."

This was quickly echoed by everyone before they all started to give each other a hug, Susan and Neville both made sure to give one to Madam Bones and Longbottom as well.

When they calmed down Jared waved up to the balcony to stop the music and once it was quiet said, "If I can have everyone's attention," he paused and made sure they were all looking at him, "Thank you, first of all I want to thank everyone for a making this, the first ball I have given really great and fun. Secondly as Midnight has now come and gone I think it's time we all started to think about going to bed and getting some sleep, especially as I have to get you all back to the bank for ten in the morning which means we don't really get much of a lie in." This got a few good natured grumbles from some of the children, the most vocal being the twins.

"Now obviously we can't sleep in the ball room, or in our nicest clothes, as such three rooms have been provided along with some night clothes for everyone by my father. To avoid anyone getting lost I thought we could have one last dance and then I will escort you all to the rooms together, that way our chaperons Madam Longbottom and Bones," here he gave a quick nod to them, "Will also know exactly where you all are as well."

The two women gave him a nod and smile of thanks at this, they had been wondering how the sleeping arraignments were going to be handled and so were quite relieved to hear what had been planned and how they would all be kept together.

Soon the last dance had been played and Jared was escorting them all out of the ballroom and to the three rooms that had been set up for them. It had taken a little persuading earlier in the day before the guests had arrived but Jared had even gotten the King and Queen to agree to letting him stay with the boys for the night as well, they had been against it to begin with due to Jared's status not only as the host but as a Prince of the Kingdom.

In Jareth's opinion princes did not share rooms especially with those from a lower status but Jared had managed to use the argument that not only would he would have to sit with some of the other children as a part of the wizarding government one day but as a Lord and Head of House in the wizarding world they weren't all that different in status, it was only in the Underground that they differed.

Jareth had smirked, impressed with his son's attempt at reasoning to stay with his friends before telling him it was a flimsy excuse as being in the Underground for the ball meant that his title as Prince and Heir to the throne would automatically cancel out the wizarding world titles, but he would allow it, at long as he only used it for the night of the ball.

By half twelve they were all tucked up in their beds and fast asleep, the boys and girls had tried to stay awake a little longer in their respective rooms to chat about the day but they soon felt the exhaustion from the long day, the excitement and all the energy they had used dancing and having fun at the ball as such once by one they failed and fell into a deep sleep filled with happy content dreams.

xxxx

A/N Ok I know it's been a long time since I updated but honestly I just haven't been in a writing mood so getting the motivation to sit in front of my laptop has been hard to get.

I would also like to thank those of you that sent the wonderful supporting reviews to me after my little rant in the previous chapter, it meant a lot to me, unfortunately it didn't stop the main person it was aimed at from still demanding on what I should do in my own fic but I have since come to the realisation that unless I stop being polite and instead turn into a rude and ungrateful person and just tell them bluntly to get lost and write their own fic (which I refuse to do, my parents brought me up too well:) ) I guess I will just have to learn to ignore the prat, after all a review is a review and I should be thankful for them all :).

I would also like to once again say this chapter is dedicated that wonderful man and legend that made all of this possible by liking the script and agreeing to play the marvellously wonderful handsome and cruel Goblin King we all love not mention such fantastic music…RIP David Bowie


	30. Chapter 30 - Christmas Celebrations Pt5

Disclaimer: I can honestly say that after looking at my poor bank balance I do not own any of the characters that you see and recognise here from either Harry Potter or The Labyrinth, I am just having a little fun with them all

This chapter is dedicated to the great man and legend that left us…RIP Alan Rickman

**Chapter Thirty – Christmas Celebrations Pt5 – The Morning After.**

The next morning it was still very early, barely seven o'clock when the boys found themselves being woken up by the loud high pitched squealing and giggling of a little boy, thankfully all of the guests were pleased to see that it was Jared's bed that had been chosen to have the loud bundle of joy jumping up and down on it.

After locating the source of the noise, not hard to do in Jared's case who, upon being jumped on and identifying it as his little brother promptly started tickling the boisterous boy. The others all started to pull themselves out of bed with big grins on their faces only to freeze moments later as they noticed they were being watched by a very amused King that was lounging casually on the door.

"Good Morning," Jareth said with a slightly amused drawl, "You'll have to excuse Prince Ikaros, he just loves to wake his brother up when he finds out that he is still asleep, usually it is the other way around."

It was Fred who gave a cheeky grin and said, "Of course Your Majesty, as brothers with several siblings both older and younger, we always did the same to them, still do if we can get away with it."

George gave an equally cheeky grin and added, "It never gets old seeing the shock on their faces when they get woken up like that sire."

Jareth merely smiled at them both and said, "Indeed well once you are all dressed and my sons have stopped causing such a ruckus please ask Jared to bring you all to the dining room as breakfast is being served." With that he stood fully and walked out of the room.

Neville gave a small sigh and said, "Wow he is so intimidating, I don't know if I can sit through a meal with him."

Jared and Ikaros had finally calmed down a bit allowing Jared to hear what Neville said, "Don't worry Neville I know father can seem a bit scary but he's really nice behind it all, he just thinks he has to keep up the appearance of being a King and is all majestic around anyone that isn't family. Just grab hold of your Gryffindor courage and remember he may be a King but you're also going to be a Lord and Head of House one day so deserve just as much respect as he does."

Neville gave a nod of his head at this but didn't say anything, still doubting himself and his courage, it was little Ikaros that helped him more than Jared's words.

Ikaros slipped off Jared's bed and walked over to him where he stuck out a hand at the older boy and said, "Daddy scares me too sometimes but if you want you can hold my hand and when he gets scary to you give it a squeeze and I'll tell him off for you, he always says he likes me telling him off because I sound like mummy when I do." He gave Neville a huge smile and the sweetness of the offer touched Neville's heart and he couldn't stop himself from returning it with one of his own shy smiles.

"Thank you, but I don't want you to get in trouble for me. I'm sure I will be ok erm… Prince Ikaros was it?" Neville asked him as he slid from his own bed.

Ikaros nodded, "Yep I'm Prince Ikaros and one day I'm going to be a Duke just like daddy but mummy says I have to grow bigger first."

The little prince was quickly melting the hearts of all the boys, Jared just shook his head at his little brother and said, "Iky why don't you wait over by the door while we all get dressed."

Ikaros turned and pouted at him, "But I want to stay with my new friend"

Neville bent down slightly so he was on the same eye level as the younger boy, causing Ikaros to turn his head and look at him. Neville gave him a bright smile and quietly said, "If you wait over by the door I promise I'll hold your hand as we go to the dining room."

Ikaros seemed to consider it for a moment before giving a nod and quickly moved over to the still open door while the other boys couldn't help giving small chuckles at the sight.

Jared showed them all the bathroom attached to the room and they all took turns to have a quick wash and use the toilet before getting dressed, unfortunately as no one had thought to bring a change of clothes they had to get back into their formal clothes from the ball, Jared was the only one to wear something slightly more casual.

Seeing his friends dressed back into thier formal clothes he couldn't help chuckling as he said, "I think this will be the most formal and best dressed breakfast I've ever been to. I'll have to remember to advise an overnight bag when I do this next year."

The others rolled their eyes at him before throwing their pillows at Jared in retaliation to which Jared just laughed and threw the pillows straight back at them. Before an all-out pillow war could begin though he held his hands up, "Guys, we should get going breakfast is waiting."

Dropping the pillows with only mild grumbles they trouped out of the room, Ikaros immediately thrust his hand into Neville's when he reached the door, the shy boy just gave him a big smile in return.

Jared led them towards the room next door only to find Madam Bones and Longbottom already waiting for them. Further on at the girls room they found all of the girls also waiting for them along with Jared's sisters.

He did a quick introduction of the two princesses to the boys, all of which gave a polite bow as their names were mentioned to the two girls, both of which giggled at them as they gave brief curtsey's in return.

Jared soon found out that the girls and their chaperones had been woken by the Queen with the help of his sisters and told that Jared would be there to escort them all to the dining room.

Just as he was about to say they should go the two Weasley twins, after sharing a brief glance and silently deciding that as the oldest males present should do their gentlemanly duty stepped forward and to the surprise of everyone present, with perfect manners offered their arms to the two princesses and both of them graciously accepted before once again giggling.

This led to Jared and Terry offering their arms to Madam Longbottom and Bones which prompted all of the other boys to do the same until everyone had an arm to hold, although in a couple of cases the girls had to double up with the boys, the exception being Neville who was still holding Ikaros's hand.

When they entered the dining room both Jareth and Sarah couldn't stop the amused smiles from appearing at the sight of all the boys except Neville escorting the girls into the room and taking them each to a chair, while Neville quietly asked Ikaros where he sat and promptly got pulled over to one down from the King.

Neville went bright red at being so close to someone he found so intimidating but didn't want to spoil the sweet and eager way Ikaros has pointed at the seat next to him and told Neville he could sit there so that he would be able to protect him then.

Jareth had smirked wickedly at hearing how Ikaros would protect the timid boy from his father, this lead to Sarah giving his leg a pinch under the table followed by a warning glance that told Jareth to behave. Jareth gave her a more amused smile in return, after all it was in his nature to try and be as intimidating as possible to the mortals.

Once they were all seated several goblins came bustling in carrying various trays that were laid out down the tables containing all different types of breakfast food, similar to the buffet at the ball the previous night most of the dishes were recognisable but there were a few the guests didn't know and soon learned they were delicacies of the Kingdom.

Conversation was lively over breakfast as Jared managed to intercept all of the embarrassing stories his sisters kept trying to tell his friends, Ikaros was happy as Neville engaged him in putting together the perfect breakfast plate that would feed a future Duke with enough energy to get through his lessons, and Madam Bones and Longbottom had a more grown up conversation with the King and Queen.

Soon they had all finished eating and the younger Princesses and Prince were sent off to their lessons while the Queen excused herself in relation to some duties she needed to take care of in one of the garden sections of the Labyrinth. Jared stood and catching everyone's attention said, "OK guys we have about an hour and a half before I have to get you all back to the bank so I thought you might enjoy a quick tour."

Everyone happily smiled and agreed to this wanting to see more of where they were, as they all started to get up Madam Bones said, "I would love to see more of your home Prince Jared, but if you are not busy Your Majesty I was hoping to have a moment of your time in relation to something you asked me recently?"

Jareth raised an eyebrow in curiosity at her words and regarded her for a brief moment before inclining his head, "Of course Madam Bones, we can go to my office and once done I am sure one of my goblins can reunite you with the group."

She gave a short bow of her head, "Thank you sire. Augusta I hope I won't be too long, you'll be ok until then?"

Madam Longbottom gave her a small smile, "Of course Amelia." With that the King and Madam Bones rose and left the room while all of the others gathered and followed Jared out of the room through a different door and on a tour of the Castle.

He also made sure to give them a brief view of the Labyrinth and explain just where they had been brought; he had received permission from his father to tell them as long as they all gave an oath to tell none else outside their group, an oath they all quickly swore.

The twins wanted to do more then get a view of the Labyrinth, they wanted to go out exploring in it and couldn't help looking disappointed when Jared told them that was impossible as his father had only given them permission to see it not go into it and the Labyrinth could be very dangerous to humans that did not have the Kings permission to be out in it.

When Madam Bones joined them, being escorted by one of the scruffy goblins Jared took them back to the travelling room and through it back to the bank.

They were all discussing how much fun they had had at the ball and really hoped that he would make it an annual thing as Jared led them back downstairs from the top floor to the lobby.

On entering the lobby to the bank all of the children's parents and guardians were there waiting for them. This time no one made a fuss and soon everyone was saying goodbye before happily leaving while telling their parents all about previous evening, excluding the location of course. No matter what their parents said to try and get it out of them the children had taken an oath and while it may not have been a magical oath they swore, everyone was sticking to it, not wanting to take the risk of missing out being able to attend future balls by breaking it.

When he said goodbye to Madam and Susan Bones Jared couldn't help asking older of the two, "I trust your meeting with my father was successful?"

Madam Bones gave him a smile that made Jared think of a predator stalking its prey, "Oh it was, and I am sure you will be happy when you hear of the results yourself in a week or two."

This really peaked Jared's curiosity and he was about to ask for more details but Madam Bones simply bid him goodbye and left before he could, as he returned Underground he thought about asking his father for details but knew he was unlikely to get anything from him knowing how much Jareth enjoyed seeing Jared squirm as he made him try to figure things out for himself.

A slow smile began to spread across Jared's face as he felt sure that whatever Madam Bones had spoken to the Goblin King about was going to cause trouble and mayhem at Hogwarts, especially for Dumbledore, he actually found himself for the first time actually feeling eager to go to Hogwarts.

xxxx

A/N And so the Christmas Celebrations Intermission comes to an end. Got a few things planned to occur when they return, unfortunately it seems to be taking my muses a while to tell me how to get the ideas they have given out of my head and into some form of writing.

This is also one of the shortest chapters I've written for this fic but I honestly couldn't find a way to make it longer and it didn't feel right putting it with their return to Hogwarts, I wanted to keep the whole holiday separate, so I'm afraid it's just had to stay as a short one. On the bright side it looks like the next chapter should be back up to normal length.

Can't believe the great loss we have had to the film industry. Why are all the greats leaving us? He was one of my favourite villain playing actors, along with some amazing work in other films, especially Sense and Sensibility and Love Actually and as for his voice well I could just listen to that all day…RIP Alan Rickman you will be missed.


	31. Chapter 31 - Mirror Mirror

Disclaimer: I can honestly say that after looking at my poor bank balance I do not own any of the characters that you see and recognise here from either Harry Potter or The Labyrinth, I am just having a little fun with them all

**Chapter Thirty One – Mirror Mirror**

It was only four days later that saw Jared being escorted onto platform 9 and ¾ by Sarah, his father had been unable to go with them as a last minute Underground Council meeting had been called as they were due to travel Aboveground.

Jared and Sarah were about to try and find an empty compartment when a voice called out, "Jared over here." Turning they saw Neville with his grandmother stood outside a compartment waving at them, they could just make out a couple of his other friends inside behind him.

Jared smiled and gave a wave back at his friend before they moved over to them. As they reached the compartment both Neville and Madam Longbottom greeted them with a short bow and courtesy and while Madam Longbottom greeted the Queen, Jared said, "Hey Neville, thanks for the shout, who else is here?"

Neville stepped forward and took the other end of Jared's trunk as he answered, "Sue and Hannah are inside along with Hermione, I think they are going on about some kind of new outfit Hermione got over Christmas and I decided it was better for my sanity to wait out here. So far we're the only guys to get here, although I think I saw Boot and Corner about half an hour ago but they were getting into a compartment further down." While they were talking they lifted the trunk into the compartment and up onto one of the racks, "Admittedly I only got here an hour ago myself so some of the others could be here and on the train already."

"Ladies" Jared said with a short bow of his head at the three girls, they all gave him a smile and nod back before continuing with their chat about the types of skirts they all like, something that had been prompted by the one in beautiful deep burgundy with the imprint of leaves in golden browns on it that Hermione had gotten from her parents for Christmas and shown to the others.

Jared and Neville just shook their heads at them before hopping back down to the platform to watch out for some of the others. While they waited Neville explained that Susan and Hannah had been dropped off by Hannah's parents and as they arrived at the same time as Neville and his grandmother who had then offered to watch over the two girls letting them leave to return to their jobs, and then not long after Hermione had arrived with her mum and the same offer was made and taken which is why only his grandmother was there.

Soon they had been joined by several others and the group now stretched over two compartments, some of the other parents had left while a few others stayed to watch over the growing group of children but eventually the time to depart came and goodbyes were said all around before with a loud piercing whistle the train pulled out and started them on the way back to Hogwarts.

The ride back to Hogwarts was relatively peaceful, although Jared's compartment had one brief tense moment when Malfoy showed up with his usual bodyguards.

The door had slid back and the blonde stood there with a sneer on his face, "A compartment filled with…"

But before he could finish what he was saying Jared's cold voice cut through the sudden tense silence that had fallen at his appearance, "Look around you Heir of Malfoy House, even if I was not present there are currently three Heirs to Ancient Houses, one of which is a Nobel and Most Ancient House in this compartment, your daddy may have the ear of the Minister making you think you have all the political power," Jared finally stood up from his seat and faced the sneering boy, "But no matter what he says to the Minister or how much gold he pours in his pocket your House can never have as much political power as they do combined together for at least three more generations. Keep your pitiful comments to yourself and leave us in peace."

Fury filled Malfoy's face but before he could spit any hateful words at him and to Jared's surprise Neville, Susan and Ernie stood up and surrounded him. It was Neville that with more calm than any of them felt said, "You won't know this Heir Malfoy but the Heads of the Ancient Houses of Bones and Macmillan and the Regent for the Nobel and Most Ancient House of Longbottom met over the winter holidays to re-new their alliance to each other.

We weren't present at the meeting but we did spend the day together while they had it and as the Heirs to those Houses we had a chat about it too and agreed that the renewal of the alliances between our families was what we wanted as well.

We decided that when the day comes for us to become the Heads, we will keep to the same alliance being formed by our parents and guardians so I strongly suggest you leave Heir of House Malfoy before you start a feud between two _Ancient_ Houses, a _Nobel and Most Ancient_ House and your _Lowly _House."

They all saw Malfoy pale at this, whether it was through fear or anger Jared was a little unsure as he stopped paying attention to him and was drawn instead to the way Malfoy's two bodyguards had also paled at what was said.

Remembering his recent lessons in the different Ancient families of the wizarding world he guessed he shouldn't be all that surprised as he recalled that both the Crabbe and Goyle Houses were on the list of the Founding Fifteen Families, making them both Heirs to Nobel and Most Ancient Houses like Neville.

While these two may be listed as the dumbest students in their year if not the school they had to have been hammered with the same family politics all their lives just like all the other Heirs and over time even Crabbe and Goyle as Heirs had to have learned what was necessary to be an effective Head of House and understand at least some of the political speech that was being said to them.

Malfoy just spun on his heel and stormed out of the compartment without another word and Crabbe and Goyle quickly followed him. Jared gave a small frown in thought, why were two Heirs of Nobel and Most Ancient Houses following someone from a House so much lower than their own? Maybe it was something worth looking into if he had the time.

The tense atmosphere still filled the small room but Hermione soon broke it as she calmly said, "Ok so those of us that haven't even formed Houses yet would like to get back to finding out who gave the Heir to the Ancient House of Bones this gorgeous brooch for Christmas?"

A few blinked in surprise at her words before one of them gave a soft giggle, this started the rest of them off and soon they were all laughing and had settled back down to enjoy the rest of the ride.

When they arrived at Hogsmeade station and made their way to the carriages it wasn't only Jared that made a small detour this time to the front of them to pet the Thestrals. Most he could see were a bit hesitant to do it, until Susan was the first to stretch out a hand and with a small gasp she said, "Oh their hide is so soft it's like a Puffskein my Aunt let me have as a pet when I was about five."

This gave the rest of them the confidence to reach out and pet the invisible creatures, although Jared had to step in quickly and say to Justin, "Woah you may want to go a little higher there Justin unless you want be bitten, that's its mouth."

Justin sharply pulled his hand back with a nervous laugh, "Thanks Jared."

Jared gave a single nod and a smile to him before saying to the rest of the group, "Come on guys we should get going or we're going to miss the returning feast."

With a few last pats from the girls they made their way into the carriages, splitting into two groups to do so.

Soon they had reached the castle and made their way into the Great Hall to enjoy the delicious feast that was served. A few times while they were eating and swapping Christmas stories with some of the other Hufflepuff's Jared noticed the Headmaster watching him with an odd almost smug smile on his face, he tried to ignore it but couldn't shake the feeling that he was going to have to parry yet another attempt at control from the old man very soon.

The next couple of days passed quietly as everyone fell back into the routine of exercise, school work and in Jared's case training.

xx

It was Thursday of their first week back and Jared, Neville and Hermione had only been settled at a table in the library for twenty minutes when they were approached by Ron Weasley, his book bag slung over his shoulder.

"Hey guys." He said with a sheepish smile on his face, "Look I know we haven't exactly got off on the right foot but…can we start again, maybe I could study with you?" He gave a hopeful look at them as he dumped his bag onto the table with an audible thump.

The three shared a look between them before Neville said, "Ok I guess you can join us but you have a long way to go before we call you our friend. You've said some really hurtful things and acted in a really obnoxious way for us to just forget it all right away."

A look of anger flashed across Ron's face and Jared was sure he was about to argue with Neville but then he seemed to swallow back whatever he was going to say and just nodded his head before sitting down.

Hermione took pity on her fellow Gryffindor and with a soft smile asked, "What subject do you want to work on?"

Ron gave her a grateful smile before pulling out his Transfiguration book and essay and the two started going over it while Jared and Neville returned to their own work.

The next day the usual trio were heading down the main staircase from the library when Ron came rushing up to them with a flushed excited look on his face.

"Guys, you have to come and see this." He panted breathlessly, "I've just found the best thing ever a mirror that shows you the future." He gave them a beaming smile before grabbing Jared's arm and began pulling him back the way he had come from, "You have got to see it, it's brilliant."

Jared pulled his arm out of Ron's grasp and stopped where he was, Neville and Hermione easily catching up with the few rushed steps he had been forced to take by the eager boy.

With a look of annoyance on his face, Jared calmly said, "Mr Weasley, just because we were willing to give you a second chance does not mean that we are close enough acquaintances for you to just run up and grab me like that."

Ron turned back around to face him a slight frown on his face, before he puffed out his cheeks with a fast puff of air as he replied, "Fine, look I'm sorry I grabbed you but you guys have got to come see this, it's wicked." The eager look was back on his face as he finished.

The trio shared a look before Neville gave a shrug and said, "What harm can it do to just go have a look?"

Jared's frown changed to one of thoughtfulness as he said, "None I suppose, and I am certainly aware that it is possible for mirrors to have power, my step-mother the Queen uses them for communication with her half-brother."

Hermione had her own look of curiosity as she said, "I know I've read in books about them being used to scry the future as well. I wouldn't mind having a look."

Ron was nearly bouncing on the spot, "Great it's agreed then let's go look at it and you guys can see your futures."

They set off following him to a dusty unused classroom on the second floor, glancing around at it ignoring the large ornate mirror in the middle of the room resting against some of the old desks Jared turned and asked the red head, "You say you just found this, what were you even doing in here Mr Weasley? It's not exactly the normal type of place for you to hang out in?"

Ron looked a bit sheepish before clearly gathering his Gryffindor courage and answered, "Well you see I wanted to prove to you guys I was serious about changing and thought maybe starting a Chess Club would help show that. I'm really good at it and thought it might help do what you guys have been going on about bringing people together. While I was looking for somewhere to use that was pretty central in the castle I found this."

Jared didn't show it like his companions did but they were all impressed with Ron, Hermione even gave him a huge smile and said, "That's a great idea, I'll help you get it organised if you want."

Ron gave her a small smile back and a brief nod of his head before looking past them at the large mirror and his smile grew huge, "Great but you guys need to look at this."

He walked around them to stand in front of it. The trio moved over to it with him, admiring the intricate detailing of the frame before all three of them read the strange words worked into the top of it, _'__Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi'_.

Frowning Jared had a feeling that not only was the wording somehow key to how the mirror worked but that he should know the language it was written in but could not figure it out.

Ron's excited grin grew even wider at the sight he could clearly see but they could not, "See" he exclaimed, "it must show the future, this is brilliant I'm going to outdo all my brothers."

The other three exchanged unsure glances at this, Ron was hardly known to be the most hardworking student so how was he expecting to outdo his brothers exactly? Before any of them could express this verbally Ron had spun around waved them closer, "Come on you three see what your future is."

Ron stepped back slightly himself and after one more shared glance Hermione gave a small shrug and said, "Very well I'll go first."

With that she stepped up to the mirror and gazed into it, within a few seconds a look of surprise crossed her features. She stared hard at the image before her for several seconds before stammering, "I think he might be right, there is a chance this mirror gives us a glimpse of the future."

She quickly stepped back from it, her eyes wide turning she looked at them, "I never really believed in the whole seeing the future stuff before but this…well this seems pretty amazing."

Neville took a deep breath and stepped forward, "My turn I guess." Hermione moved out of his way and he moved in front of the large mirror.

Like Hermione he gazed into it for a few seconds, suddenly he went wide eyed in shock and gasped before throwing himself at it to push against the surface as though he was trying to get inside the mirror and at the image he saw.

Both Hermione and Jared were alarmed at his reaction and shot forward to grab his arms, Ron just rolled his eyes at what he thought were simply dramatics on Neville's part, he didn't care what the annoying nag and clumsy squib saw he just wanted Jared to look in the mirror and tell him how great Ron was for finding this, then telling him that by doing so they were now best friends before describing exactly what he saw in it.

"Nev," Jared said worriedly, "What is it? What's wrong?"

In a voice barely above a whisper Neville breathed out, "My parents, they're awake and…" he choked off his words at that point and his face flushed red as he gazed in the mirror hungrily at the image of his parents hugging and chatting to him.

Jared and Hermione both looked at him with worry, Neville never spoke about his parents. They knew he was raised by his grandmother but he had never told them why or where his parents were.

The few times the subject of parents had ever been mentioned he had always gone very quiet before changing the subject. Now it seemed they had at least some of the answer, something had happened to them and from his words they assumed his parents were in some sort of permanent sleep state; Hermione was thinking some sort of magical coma perhaps.

Looking at each other around him, Jared and Hermione gave a single nod before pulling him back and away from the image.

The flushed look remained as Neville barely even glanced at them before looking back at the mirror and in a voice filled with desperate longing said, "Its true isn't it? This thing tells the future doesn't it?"

Jared swallowed back the desire to tell his friend what he wanted to hear and carefully said, "I don't know Nev, it might but I think we would have to translate the words at the top to be sure."

Hermione glanced up to the top and the strange words again, falling into a thoughtful scowl as she tried to figure out what language they were in softly mumbling to herself, "hmmm…it's not any modern language I recognise, or Latin. It seems almost English…"

Behind them Ron was getting impatient with all the dramatics, he knew he should have said something when the annoying nag had stepped forward first but enough already. He just wanted Jared to look in the mirror, it was important that Jared look in it, didn't these two annoying hanger-on's get that. So giving into the urge he was feeling from the tickle in his mind about it all he said, "Come on guys of course it tells the future, Jared it's your turn."

Jared was suddenly suspicious, why was Ron so insistent on him looking onto the mirror, after all he had only tried to drag Jared here, not the others.

In fact he had a feeling that if the others hadn't been with him Ron would never have even mentioned the mirror to them, thinking about it now he realised that Ron must have passed at least one or two other people before he met them on the fourth floor, they had certainly passed some on the way back down the staircase to this room so why hadn't he told any of them?

If Ron was so eager to show it off why had he not said anything to the first person he met? Why seek them out specifically, it's not like they were all that close, certainly he was closer to Dean and Seamus from Gryffindor rather than Neville and Hermione so that ruled them out as the reason.

No it had to be Jared that was the target but why? Was it to impress him in an attempt to get closer to him maybe?

Jared pushed these thoughts away; he was starting to get as paranoid as his father did when it came to anything to do with wizards, instead he released the hold he had on Neville's arm and with one last quick glance at his friend to make sure he wasn't going to throw himself at the mirror again stepped towards it.

Moving to the same spot the others had stood in Jared looked into the mirror. To begin nothing happened and all he saw was his own reflection, but then a haze seemed to surround him for a few seconds. When it cleared he was surprised to see his birth parents, James and Lily Potter stood on either side of him. They both smiled at him and James placed a hand on his shoulder.

Jared blinked and was about to tell this to the others what he saw and so it couldn't possibly be showing them the future when two more figures stepped around his birth parents to stand on either side of them.

James and Lily looked over their own shoulders at the new figures and gave them each a nod of respect and acceptance that looked almost like a bow being given to royalty.

It was then Jared realised just who the two new figures were, Jareth and Sarah.

Jared didn't know if it was the innate magic of the mirror or that of the Fae, but Jareth and Sarah seemed to be able to see his birth parents, they accepted the short bows with ones of their own before reaching out and placing a hand on the shoulder of the parent they now stood in for, Jareth to James and Sarah to Lily.

This seemed to signal something to the Potters as they both took one last look at Jared, gave him a huge smile each before fading from view.

Jareth then leaned over and seemed to whisper something in Sarah's ear, she nodded her head in agreement with whatever he had said before she too gave Jared one last smile and small wave before fading away.

Jareth stepped into the centre of the mirror so he was directly across from Jared and gave him a gentle smile.

Behind Jared Ron was getting impatient again with the way he had stood there for nearly a minute now staring at the mirror and still had yet to say a word about what he could see. Unable to wait any longer he burst out, "Well mate, what can you see?"

Neville and Hermione both frowned at him for his rudeness, after all it was quite a personal thing to see one's future but didn't say anything because why they never would have asked the question themselves, their own curiosity was peaked.

In the mirror Jareth looked over Jared's shoulder at the others in the room, he gave a friendly glance over Jared's friends but turned calculating when they landed on Ron.

Looking back at his son his smile grew into more of a smirk and he raised his finger to his lips in a clear signal that Jared was not to mention that he could see his father, he then looked up in the direction of the writing above the mirror and gave a wave of his hand.

The same words appeared above his head now in softly glowing words, glancing back at Jared clearly for confirmation which the young prince gave by a very slight nod of his head.

Jareth then waved his hand again and the words started to twist around and re-arrange themselves, halfway through Jared came to the realisation that they had been written backwards, as though someone had used a mirror to work them into the frame.

Jared's smile grew into a smirk of his own as he gave a second small nod to his father to show that he understood before glancing over his shoulder at the others making the decision to at least tell them the first part of what he had seen, "I see my birth parents, standing by me along with my father and Stepmother, and they all approve of each other and are happy together."

He allowed his smirk to fade away as he looked at Neville apologetically and told them what he now knew about the mirror without telling them that his father had shown him what the words said, "I'm sorry Nev, I don't think this mirror tells the future. I think it shows us what we want the most."

The flushed look had yet to fade fully from Neville's face, but a tint of disappointment began to appear in his eyes besides him Hermione gave a gasp of realisation as she worked out what Jareth had shown Jared, "Of course that's why the words looked familiar, the ones at the top, they are written in English but backwards like looking in a mirror."

Ron just frowned at them all, mulishly he said, "No way it must show the future, clearly I'm better than all of my brothers and I'm going to outdo them all one day."

Hermione ignored him as she slowly began to riddle out the words out loud, "I show…not…your face…but your…hearts…desire." She finished with a beaming smile, please to have figured it out. Seconds later her smile disappeared as the thought of what this meant to Neville crashed through her brain.

She still had her hand on his arm from earlier, now she turned and pulled him into a hug, "Oh Neville I'm so sorry. You know I'm always here if you need me."

Neville couldn't find it in himself to return the hug from Hermione, his cheeks had lost the flushed red and were now pale white, he felt numb from losing the small hope he had felt at the thought of getting his parents back one day.

Jared moved over to them and placed a hand on Neville's shoulder and softly said, "What she said goes for me to."

The three stood that way for a moment or two before Ron broke the moment, "Maybe you're wrong about the mirror, it must tell the future." He had a stubborn look on his and his arms crossed over his chest as he watched them, of course it did and now these two were ruining this moment, the moment when Jared would declare how brilliant he was for showing him something that would show how great he would be one day, especially with his best friend Ron Weasley at his side.

Hermione stepped back from Neville and shook her head at his denial, "It's what it says on the mirror, you can see it yourself."

A look of sudden anger passed over Ron's face and Jared was sure he was about to start yelling at Hermione but then he seemed to just push it back and instead looked at Jared, "Mate tell her she can be wrong, I mean maybe seeing your parents was meant as some symbolic thing rather than meaning that you'll actually see them, I mean they are dead so maybe it means you'll go to their graves or become better at the magic they did best or something."

Jared couldn't stop himself from flinching at how tactless Ron's statement was and it was this more than anything that made him reply in a cold voice, "I am not your mate, as I told you before we have barely consented to be casual acquaintances with you again so stop calling me that, and don't think I didn't notice you calling me Jared before without my permission Mr Weasley. As for your rude and insulting attitude towards Hermione when the truth of what she is telling is right in front of you, it is starting to make me re-think that even a casual acquaintance with you is too much."

Ron looked shocked at his words; this wasn't how this was meant to go. He opened his mouth to argue back, again there was some sense of urgency ticking the back of his mind that it was imperative he be best friends with Jared, but before he could say anything Hermione had placed her hand on Neville's shoulder and leaned over to grab Jared's sleeve then tugged at them both towards the door saying, "Come on guys, why don't we just go and forget all about this mirror, it's clearly not something that we should mess around with."

After a quick pale faced glance at it Neville's voice was quiet as he agreed with her, "Yeah I think I want to just forget all about it."

To his friends it was clear that the mirror had caused a great deal of emotional harm to him and in their heads both Jared and Hermione were cursing the fact that they hadn't figured the wording out sooner so as to save their friend so much pain.

Ignoring Ron's indignant squawking about how they can't just forget something as great as the mirror and that they should try taking another look, that it would prove them wrong and all the other rubbish he was spewing in an attempt to get them to stay, the trio left the room and began making their way back to their original destination, Hagrid's hut for the tea and cakes he had invited them to via a message he had sent with Hedwig the day before.

xx

A/N Ok so first off I would like to mention that yes I am well aware that in the book the Mirror of Erised was in a room on the fourth floor and not the second floor as I have written here, however my excuse is I decided to move it to make it fit my fic a little better as well as artistic license.

I know it has been a long time since I updated but between real life where my little business I mentioned starting failed so having to deal with the fallout from that, get a new job and start planning my wedding…Yes my partner finally proposed after five years together and I now have a little less than a year to plan it as we have the date set for next March, but between all that and just generally not having the motivation to write I'm afraid the updates are not going to be a quick as I would like.

I have no intention of giving this up, it may take time but I do still love it to the extent that I am even doing lots of research on Dragons for the next chapter :) I am also fully up to date now with what I have written so updates will only occur as a chapter gets finished.

Thank you to everyone that have sent me such lovely reviews and keep following and adding this to their favourites.

Keep writing and have fun

V.


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